We visited several booths, admired various souvenirs, and without realizing it, the evening approached. The negotiations dragged on, but eventually, the feudal lords left with dissatisfied faces, taking their gold with them, which meant that the climax of the festival was about to come.
When we approached the stage, everyone was gathering for the final preparations for the performance. Vina temporarily closed her stall and was now going through the roles with the young actors.
Spotting us, Kurone signaled everyone to gather together to greet the young girl.
"Serena, let me introduce you to my friends and loyal comrades. This is Kat, Seli, Ragni, Vina, Grain, Algo, Liri, Riz, and our teacher Levris. You know Kurone and Aileen."
"Hello," the girl looked uncertainly at our "gang."
"So, you are the very Serena," Grain, slightly nervous, approached the girl and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. You've created a wonderful bridge."
"Thank you, but it's all thanks to your abilities. Without them, my plans would have remained on paper."
"Oh, come on," Seleria approached Serena and hugged her. "Such a clever girl shouldn't be so modest. Krito, you hid such a treasure from me."
The princess began to stroke the girl's hair, embracing her by the shoulders, and she slightly flinched in surprise.
"Forgive Seli; she likes everything cute. We can't do anything about this bad habit of hers."
"Oh, no, it's okay. I just don't know how to behave in such a situation. I haven't spoken to my peers much."
"So, everyone in their places," Rizel clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. "The mayor is coming. And our performance."
"Wow, we need to change costumes!" The children rushed into the room in the middle of the stage. As for our guild members, we found better places to stand. Vina and I will accompany you," Rizel bowed and went to her students.
We found three vacant seats in the front row, where three boys were sitting until Vina appeared before them. As soon as she gestured with her hand, they stood up and moved back.
"I think I saw these guys among those who built your tent," I remarked.
"Yes, they are the ones. I asked them to save us seats here," Vina replied.
"You're quite the intimidating person, earning yourself so many, umm, 'servants' with just a few beautiful girls in only two weeks," I gave her a skeptical glance, to which she simply grinned.
"Thanks for the compliment, but everyone who considers themselves a respectable merchant should know how to manage people."
"That wasn't a compliment, but never mind. It's starting."
The mayor stepped onto the stage and addressed the townspeople.
"Greetings, citizens of our town and visitors who came for the festival. Today is a momentous day in the history of our city. We have gained independence!" The square erupted in enthusiastic applause. "By buying out the lands from the feudal lord, we have earned the right to freedom for our city and the surrounding lands. Now the city will be governed by an elected mayor and a council of citizens. The king can appoint a new feudal lord for us, but now the city council will decide whether to accept him or not. Thanks to this, we can develop as a city and send our best children to the Academy. The rector informed me that he would gladly welcome outstanding students from us, and as a sign of goodwill, several students have arrived here. And I must say, they are wonderful people who have helped us in many important matters, though they were not obligated to. Therefore, I want to congratulate everyone on this day, which will henceforth be the annual City Day, and I want to thank our guests for everything they've done for us."
Even louder applause resounded throughout the square.
"And now, with the support of our friends from the Academy, the students of the local school have prepared a performance about the adventures of famous heroes. I invite you to enjoy this spectacle."
The curtain rose, and I saw a familiar scene: rows of desks, and a figure in a black cloak in front of the assembled students. It seemed Rizel had decided to retell the story in great detail.
"Is this the Academy's auditorium? It must be interesting to study there," Serena observed with interest.
"Yes, but not always," I looked closely at the students behind the desks; one boy with dark hair caught my attention. "I hope my actor won't sleep through the entire performance."
"And how are they going to clean up all these decorations afterward?"
I observed the desks; something was not quite right about them.
"Take a closer look. These desks are made of sand. I suppose Levris is using her magic to hold them together. And after the scene changes, she'll turn everything back into sand and rearrange the decorations."
"How interesting! I never knew magic could be used like this."
"Well, of course it can. Magic isn't just about destruction."
The performance on stage continued. The guild initiation of Rizel, the journey to Renerim. They even replicated the conversation in the carriage; I'm amazed at how good our necromancer's memory is.
"Look, look," I pointed to the carriage. The actors brought an actual carriage onto the stage with a horse that was peacefully trotting along the road. "The canvas behind it is spinning, creating the illusion of movement, and the floor beneath the horse is also moving backward, so it doesn't leave the stage while it moves."
"It's simply ingenious!" Magic had long fascinated the girl, and all of this was a genuine marvel for her.
It was time for the first encounter with the cave monsters. The girl playing Mirida skillfully wielded her sword but was ultimately abducted by the monsters. The trick with the gloves worked perfectly, and the dark-haired girl with artificial wings unleashed real magic. Flashes of fire and lightning elicited enthusiastic gasps and amazed exclamations from the audience.
The scenes of battle preparation and strategy built up the tension. I heard numerous murmurs of disapproval from the audience when my character proposed a marriage contract as payment. Soon, it was time for the confrontation between the villagers and the hordes of underground creatures. This scene involved all the students and most of the wooden dolls.
The final battle commenced, and the young actors handled themselves well, clashing with fake swords against the puppets. The monsters surprisingly wielded their "blades" skillfully, taking one "wounded" warrior out of the fight after another. Then, a powerful burst of fire allowed the moon to illuminate the battlefield. The role of the moon was portrayed by a large mithril disk, and its glow, when subjected to electricity, closely resembled moonlight. As the moon appeared, the monsters began to emit electric sparks and darted chaotically across the stage.
"How did that happen? Weren't they supposed to be wooden?" Serena was intrigued by anything unusual. "I heard that real monsters were covered in mithril, which made them glow in the moonlight."
"Yes, the real monsters were indeed like that. The mithril reacted to the moonlight. But these models have metal wires attached to them, and when Kat passes a lightning bolt through them, they emit that glow."
"Fascinating! By the way, I think I figured out the secret of these watches," Serena pulled out the timepieces. "Is this sapphire by any chance a moon calendar?"
The girl pointed at the sapphire, which remained dark blue but had a bright strip of pale blue on one side.
"You think so?"
"The center stone was entirely dark during the new moon, but when the moon's phase slightly shifted today, this strip appeared at the edge of the stone. I believe it indicates the moon's phases, and now I understand where the energy from the mithril goes inside the watches."
"Well done. You quickly figured it out. But now the most exciting part is about to begin. Let's keep watching."
The kind-hearted elder waved her hands, and the lightning held the "monsters" together. Then, the red-haired girl unleashed a huge burst of flames in front of her, burning only the "monsters" without touching any of the scenery. At first, I worried that Seleria's flames might damage the stage, but it seemed she had it under control.
The scene turned, revealing the familiar setting. Three swords and a staff dangled from a low beam, each holding five people. Though the swords barely held onto the beam and the actors hung on ropes portraying Aileen, it all looked quite realistic. The adventurers descended from the ceiling and headed towards the queen's chambers.
Finally, the last room with the eggs, where Rizel stayed to delay the pursuers. All the actors rushed off the stage, leaving Mili in a black cloak and with a silvery staff alone. The audience held their breath, and I was also intrigued because what happened in this room was a mystery to me. One by one, the monsters surrounded the girl, their sharp blades clinking as they formed a circle around her.
"I asked them to leave to avoid accidentally hurting them. And now it's time to end you all!" Mili raised her gaze, shadow magic completely concealing her face. However, under the hood, one could see a satisfied grin and her eyes shining brightly in a vivid green light.
The "necromancer" took the staff with one hand from its lower part and swung it behind her, lowering the skull downward. The skull was enveloped in dark purple flames, and the girl gracefully executed a full turn on the spot, tracing a perfect circle with the flames. The circle, drawn in the air by the force of decay, hung motionless for a second before expanding and engulfing everything around it in a sharp explosion. When the flames dissipated, the central part of the stage where the girl stood remained undamaged, while the rest of the stage was covered in black ash left from the monsters after the necrotic blast. The "necromancer" herself wrapped herself in a cloak and dissolved into her own shadow. In reality, there was a special trapdoor in the floor, and shadow magic helped make it a more colorful spectacle.
"Oh, Krito, look, the last magic affected the decorations too!" Serena nervously pointed at the canvas in the back of the stage, which began to char around the edges. But I understood what they were trying to achieve.
In the same "room", Ragni, Algo, Leira, and Krito entered. As soon as they reached the center of the stage, the canvas charred at the edges and fell to the floor, revealing the towering figure of the beehive queen, emitting a menacing roar in the presence of the heroes.
"What effects! You've come up with everything so brilliantly!"
"Well, you're flattering us. The kids have done a lot. Now you'll see what they've learned during these days."
The battle with the queen began. To make her movements look as realistic as possible, Kurone and Rizel divided the parts they would control. Kurone delivered precise strikes with the blades, while Rizel moved the rest of the body in sync with the strikes.
The actors handled it brilliantly; during the rehearsals, they had learned to anticipate the enemy's moves and dodge attacks. At one point, Algo and Krito grabbed the swords while Ragni rushed towards the queen's head. The little blades attempted to strike the swordsman, and a sudden gust of wind pushed him back. Of course, the actor let go of Aileen's rope, and Liri used the gust to deflect her eyes. Fully recreating the battle, the actors finally finished, and the queen collapsed on the stage.
The heroes emerged from the cave, and the joyful villagers greeted them with applause. Rizel deliberately omitted the part where we found the old laboratory to avoid discrediting Leira's family.
Now, the scene shifted to the main Vanderhof family house. The malicious and greedy "Krito" tried to forcibly claim the young and inexperienced noblewoman, while her loyal attendant defended her with all his might. By this point, even the clueless audience loudly booed all of "Krito's" actions. Did I really look like such a villain from their perspective?
The battle between the two swordsmen began, and after so many training sessions, real rivalry seemed to have grown between the boys, and they fought seriously. Of course, the swords were not sharpened, but a blow from such a sword could be quite painful. "Algo" with a low stance closed the distance with "Krito" and delivered precise strikes to his legs and torso, while the black swordsman responded with light evasions and counterattacks. When "Krito" finally knocked the guy down and held his swords above his throat, I heard several girls in the hall gasp in fear. But the boy's confession was met with a wave of joyful sighs, and "Krito" had no choice but to swing the blades again and deftly hide them in their sheaths on his back – luckily, he had learned to make this move.
"Krito" provocatively challenged "Leira", and the wedding was arranged. Now, sighs of love and admiration erupted from the audience. Apparently, the genuine and devoted love between the lady and her servant touched the hearts of the young girls.
And now, the final act – "Algo" dressed as "Leira" in a wedding gown standing at the altar, reciting vows. Suddenly, the light shifted to the boy with black hair and the girl in the cloak sitting in the front row.
"No, not this scene, please!" I bit my lip, dreading what would come next.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing," I couldn't tell Serena what was to come.