kscans

Chapter 161 - The Arts Theater and the Little One

'...Blood may be close, yet our hearts are distant. I am weary of being cherished so.'

Hamlet, a story chosen for its medieval feel.

The powerful lines of the actors, trained for three years with the help of Kilfan's older generation who knew theater, echoed through the hall. Using a wind magic tool to make the voices reverberate properly, the cast's impassioned performance created a gripping sense of realism that swallowed the audience whole. Mesmerized by the story that progressed with a varying tempo, the people stared without a sound. From their expressions, Little One was certain of the first performance's success.

'Get thee to a nunnery, Ophelia!'

When the stunned actress shed silent tears in streams, sobbing could be heard from the audience. And in the scene where Ophelia began to laugh through her tears as she sang, wails started to rise from the ladies' throats.

'How should I your true love know... By his cockle hat and staff, and his sandal shoon...'

The actress playing a lady-in-waiting embraced her from behind as she swayed as if drifting. Ophelia looked at her with vacant eyes and smiled with a slight lift of her lips.

'...Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark?'

Laughter echoed, and the stage went dark. The lighting, provided by magic tools, was superb, illuminating the stage from all angles and relentlessly heightening the contrast and power of the scenes.

Ophelia, who had lost her sanity due to Hamlet's heartless treatment, died, and Hamlet, having lost her, reflected on his own life. The story had begun when the ghost of Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark, appeared and told his son, 'I was poisoned by my wife, Gertrude.' His mother had remarried his father's brother, Claudius, as soon as his father died. Hamlet set various traps for them and became convinced that his father's ghost's words were true. From then on, he feigned madness and plotted his revenge, but as if to mock him, Hamlet lost those close to him one after another.

'To do, or not to do... that is the question.'

Eroded by the madness he was supposed to be feigning for revenge, Hamlet's feet were gradually trapped in the black mire of darkness. Ophelia's father, Polonius, who had tried his best to save Hamlet, fell to his sword due to a misunderstanding. And Ophelia's brother, Laertes, who had lost his entire beloved family at Hamlet's hands, burned with a blazing fire of vengeance and wished for Hamlet's death.

Malice begat malice, and revenge begat revenge.

As a result, Hamlet and Laertes were to have a duel before the court, and in the deadly fight with the murderous Laertes, Hamlet, though mortally wounded, killed him. Furthermore, Queen Gertrude mistakenly drank from the poisoned cup prepared to kill Hamlet, and the dying Hamlet killed the flustered King Claudius as the queen suffered.

Most of the characters became corpses, and Hamlet, standing on the pile of bodies, used his last breath to leave a final message to his friend.

'...the truth. See that this truth is passed down to future generations.'

Thus, Hamlet too breathed his last, and the gruesome tale of this family came to a close. A tragic ending where no one was saved.
The audience was speechless.

As the heavy drop curtain fell, no one uttered a sound. The audience remained frozen, staring blankly at the stage. Into the silent hall, a small clap was heard from somewhere. Spurred by it, the rest of the audience began to applaud. The scattered applause gradually grew louder, turning into a great roar that seemed to shake the Arts Theater itself.

A thunderous cheer rose up. An avalanche of applause.

As if in response, the curtain rose again.

'Thank you for your generous praise. Allow us to introduce the elite members of our Arts Theater troupe!'

The same voice as the narrator began to introduce the actors on stage.

'First, playing Hamlet, Molotov Gardner!'

A young man stepped forward and bowed. It was the young man from the paper-story show who had accompanied them on their previous pilgrimage. Incidentally, the role of Ophelia was played by his younger sister, Farmy. These two had been part of the troupe since the early days of recruitment, and Molotov, having originally planned to become a librarian, had a deeper understanding of stories than the others. The two talented siblings were rigorously trained by the veterans of Kilfan, and their outstanding acting talents blossomed.

Facial features can be managed eighty percent with makeup anyway. Yes, perfect casting♪

The siblings had perfectly fine features, but Little One, who was surrounded by royalty and nobility with an excessively high rate of beauty, including herself, had a strict standard of evaluation. Not that she particularly cared. She was fundamentally indifferent to people's beauty or ugliness.

"The birth of a matinee idol. He's going to be busy from now on."

"Come to think of it... do they call them a 'leading actor'? Why is he the 'second face'? Who is the 'first face'?"

"The first face is the troupe leader. The head of the theater company. That's why the actor's signboard starts from the second face. The most popular actor comes first, so we call such popular figures 'second face stars'."

Romel nodded in understanding at Little One's explanation. Those around him also nodded in the same way.

"Star. A celestial body, then."

The King of Castrato muttered to no one in particular.

Little One reacted with a twitch at those words.

"It does mean star in that sense... but how did you know it meant a celestial body?"

"Ah, you in Frontier may not know. It is in the old language of the Claudia Kingdom. There is a script called the alphabet. I can read some words of it."
Little One's eyes widened. Unaware of her astonishment, Romel also tapped his cheek and muttered.

"That's right, there was the alphabet. Kilfan has kanji and such too. A fair amount of the ancient words of yore still remain, don't they."

"We have them in my country too. Especially the numbers. The common language ones are quite difficult, but Donautil's Arabic numerals are simple."

WHAT DID YOU SAYYYY?!

The casual chat of the royalty.

Little One's jaw dropped at the various things mentioned in it, and she screamed in her mind.

SO THEY EXISTED ALL ALONG!!

The alphabet, Arabic numerals, kanji. Since the people she had been searching for had been visiting Kilfan in droves, the existence of kanji was understandable.

But the other two were things Little One could not ignore.

The royalty could only stare with wide eyes, not understanding why the girl was screaming and thrashing about.

"Ah, ooh... all my consideration was for nothingggg."

The girl writhed in her living room at home. Looking down at her, Katsumi let out a dry laugh.

"So the alphabet and Arabic numerals exist. Ancient words, huh. So that's how they survived."

Indeed. The Hayesleep preceptors who had visited Arcadia in the past. It was impossible that they, who were influenced by Earth, would not have known the alphabet or Arabic numerals. Usually, about ten people were sent as preceptors. Even if a few of them were Legion's messengers, there must have been other people who came over.

The legacy left by those people.

Little One, who had been busy with her pilgrimage during her stay, had not been able to notice such deep-seated details.

"But the Prince Regent seemed to know about it, right? So wouldn't it be alright to spread it?"

At Katsumi's carefree reply, Little One made a sour face and rolled around. Was she not like a clown, having kept silent about even Arabic numerals to avoid spreading unfamiliar concepts? As he watched the pouting Little One with an amused expression, Katsumi suddenly remembered a question he had during the play.

"By the way, about Hamlet's line. Why was it 'to do, or not to do'? Wasn't it 'to be, or not to be'?"

"Ah, that. Hmm, I guess it's my own interpretation."

The actual line in Hamlet is not 'to be, or not to be'. As it was difficult to translate into Japanese, a fitting phrase was used instead. It was a line that expressed Hamlet's anguish, torn between revenge and murder.

《King Claudius》 to be, or not to be. It is translated this way. This is a line about contemplating the life and death of the man who is his enemy.

So Little One thought about it.

《Revenge》 to do, or not to do. This, too, is a line that includes the question of whether or not to kill King Claudius.

Katsumi's face showed understanding upon hearing the explanation.

"I see. It can be interpreted that way, and it's a stylish turn of phrase."

The people involved in theater in Kilfan were delighted that the expression of the story had been changed. It is important to convey what exists correctly. But just adhering to it is bland. Expressions and meanings change with the times. Words are things that evolve.

"I think this is more poetic. The meaning is the same, and the interpretation of an opera changes depending on the audience. Expressions that allow for imagination are welcome."

The people eagerly devoured the Hamlet script written by Little One.

And so, the opening of the Arts Theater was a great success, and they were met with the fortunate cries of a full house day after day.

With the big job finished, the twins' birthday was to be held at the Count Jorjye's house the next day.

"You're having one at the palace tonight too, right?"

"Sort of. That one is a celebration for all the royalty born in autumn. This one is the main event, nyon."

Little One was taking a walk in the forest park with Katsumi and Chihaya. The birthday children and their guest had been kicked out by Naya and Sasha. Sakura and Drago had given them some pocket money and sent them off, saying, "Go and play. Be back by lunch, okay?"

"The stalls from all the countries are in the square right now."

Little One's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Hiiro. We have a party after this, you know? No buying snacks."

He poked her forehead, and the girl's eyebrows furrowed. Her pouting lips were making a huge protest. Katsumi couldn't help but burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth.

"Well, now. Then maybe a drink would be alright?"

Little One's face brightened at Katsumi's offer of help. Chihaya gave him a resentful glare, and the swirling frustration inside him slipped out.

"Could you please not spoil her like that? What are you going to do if she learns that whining gets her what she wants?"

The expression vanished from Katsumi's face, and he and Little One exchanged dumbfounded looks.

"Whining gets her what she wants?"

"Me?"

She was runaway, reckless, and tumbling all over the place, but it was a fresh surprise to be seen that way by her brother.

"Is that what I look like to you, Nii-ni? Me?"

"No, it was just a figure of speech..."

Stared at intently, Chihaya couldn't come up with a good excuse. It wasn't that he truly thought that. He just wanted to find fault with something. To be blunt, it was harassment born from taking out his frustration on someone. It was jealousy towards Katsumi, who stood by his sister's side as if it were a matter of course. Pushing down the grimacing Chihaya, the brazen Cesare-sama appeared with a slither.

'Don't tease him too much. This one can't help it.'

Chihaya wanted to unconditionally eliminate anyone who got close to his sister. Even now, he would act threateningly towards Marrow, with whom he had become quite friendly after countless sparring matches, if Little One was involved.

"Do you like Katsumi more than me, Hiiro?"

In place of Cesare, who had disappeared at some point, Chihaya crouched down on the path with a resentful look.

"It's not about logic. I get it, nyo... I'm the same way."

Crouching down in the same way, Little One met Chihaya's eyes and looked at her brother with a sincere gaze. A cold flame flickered in the depths of her calm eyes. Seeing that sorrowfully cold flame, a shiver ran through Chihaya.

"I don't expect you to understand, Nii-ni. But if you're going to get in my way, I don't think I want to see your face for a while."

"Why? Why is that?"

At his sister's unbelievable words, Chihaya's face was deeply hurt, and he hastily stood up.

"I don't want to talk about it, nyo. This is a matter between me and Katsumi."

Hearing those words, Chihaya reflexively glared at Katsumi, but there he saw despair. Katsumi's eyes, too, held a gaze as sharp as a razor, no less than Little One's.

What on earth is happening...?

The thin thread connecting Katsumi and Little One was pulled taut, not allowing any third-party intervention. Sensing a change in the two of them, a change from before, Chihaya was frozen by an indescribable anxiety. The same Chihaya who possessed the power to silence veteran knights.

And so the days passed without understanding, the birthday celebration ended without incident, and today was the day to see off the guests from each country.

Little One had prepared honeybee carriages for the nobles who had come from afar, and had the miniature gardens that had been displayed in the Arts Theater delivered to the other countries that had cancelled at the last minute.

"This is a model of your country's royal capital. If you would be so kind, please deliver it to the royal family."

The nobles received the miniature gardens from the smiling girl, looking extremely apologetic. This was the greatest concession Little One could make. If they still couldn't feel a sense of crisis after seeing these miniature gardens, then it couldn't be helped.

One by one, the honeybee carriages took flight with their passengers.

After watching until the carriages that had taken to the sky were out of sight, and the Frontier royalty and nobles had departed, Little One turned to her remaining family and friends and spoke.

"From today, Katsumi will be living at the Jorjye house too. Please take care of him♪"

Chihaya's face screamed that this was a bolt from the blue. The Drago couple, who had already been informed, nodded magnanimously. Though surprised, the members of the Little One squad, who were acquainted with Katsumi, exchanged glances and nodded.

How did it come to this?!

Screaming Little One's usual line in his mind, Chihaya tore at his hair.

Sakura and Drago, who had been sworn to secrecy about the circumstances, watched their anguished son with pity.

And thus, a new member would be joining the Little One squad.