In the spacious auditorium, Arcania’s students had gathered.
Regardless of gender, the reason they were here was for the “audition.”
Specifically, the audition for the play to be performed at this year’s Arcania festival.
I had suggested to Kalian and Serena, “How about doing a play for this festival?”
“Plays at these kinds of festivals don’t make much money, meow. Especially ones created by beginners like us, meow,”
Serena initially rejected my idea negatively but soon changed her mind.
Why? Because we had the best actor on our side. Even if nothing else worked, we had Kalian, whose face alone could carry the performance.
Realizing this simple truth, Serena flipped her attitude as if turning a hand and declared,
“I’ll take care of all the preparations for the play, meow!”
And she actually did it.
From renting a space to perform from the school, to preparing props and the script, and even hosting today’s audition — she managed everything.
She even brought in the best expert to direct the play.
Backstage, Serena nodded in satisfaction as she observed the crowd that had gathered.
“With this many people showing up, it seems like we don’t need to worry about finding actors for the play, meow.”
“Thanks for helping out.”
“No need to thank me, meow. Anyway, I plan to earn more than triple our investment from this play. As long as Kalian is involved, it’s possible, meow.”
“True… though I didn’t think you’d take this so seriously.”
“If you’re going to do something, do it properly, meow. If you want to empty people’s pockets, you need to at least show sincerity, meow.”
“And what if we end up in the red?”
“As long as Kalian is the male lead, that won’t happen, meow. Plus, here’s the expert I brought in, meow.”
She pointed to the theatrical expert.
The expert was a middle-aged man wearing a beret and a robe, with a beard shaped like a “ㅅ” (siot).
He looked every bit the part of an artist.
He glanced at me and curtly introduced himself.
“My name is Louis. I love theater.”
“Louis is the greatest playwright and theatrical maestro in Perseidon, meow. His personality might be a bit eccentric, but his skills are undeniable, meow.”
“Miss Serena… I came because you said we could create a great play, but looking around, I see nothing but incompetence. Have you deceived me?”
Ignoring my presence entirely, Louis scanned the surroundings, muttering complaints.
For someone Serena hired, his boldness was striking — a sign of his assured skill.
“They’re all just students, aren’t they? There’s no way people who wield swords or magic can act… and their faces are average at best.”
“Meowhaha, don’t worry about that, meow. All you need to do is help us pick actors, meow. Then you’ll see for yourself, meow.”
“I hope I won’t be disappointed.”
The panel for the auditions consisted of Serena, Louis, and me.
While handing full authority to Louis might be best for creating a great play, my goal wasn’t the play itself.
I planned to cast Kalian as the male lead and either Lumia or Serena as the female lead.
Once cast, the male and female leads would naturally spend time together while preparing for the play, growing closer in the process.
By now, you might have guessed my intention.
To achieve this result, I was prepared to conduct blatantly biased judging.
No, I had become a judge in the first place just to make this bias possible.
The three of us walked onto the stage and sat at a table with papers laid out on it.
“The audition begins, meow,” Serena announced.
The first to step onto the stage was Kalian.
Though he had been chosen as the male lead before the audition even started, he performed a sample act for appearances.
As he delivered a simple performance, murmurs spread through the crowd.
Female students squealed in delight, with some even fainting.
Their reactions weren’t surprising, considering most were here just for the chance to share the stage with Kalian.
“His acting is far from adequate,” Louis remarked, shaking his head, the lone figure unmoved by the atmosphere.
“It’s obvious he hasn’t learned acting. With a male lead like this, there’s no way we can create a proper production. But… but… why…?”
“Why what, meow?”
“Even though he’s clearly an amateur, why does he still seem like the protagonist? This is strange. There’s no sense of incongruity in him being the lead.”
“Meowhaha, you’ve noticed the truth, meow.”
Despite his harsh criticism, Louis didn’t object to casting Kalian as the male lead.
As expected, there must be something about someone born to be the protagonist.
The male lead audition ended quickly, and the audition for the female lead began.
This time, many noblewomen participated, some of whom had studied acting as a hobby.
While Serena was deeply immersed in judging, she asked,
“Wade, have you found any actresses you like so far? Meow has picked six, meow.”
“Not yet… none of them have caught my eye.”
“Meow? Let me see… Really, meow? You gave all of them a zero? I didn’t think you’d be this picky, meow.”
She stuck out her tongue in disbelief as she glanced at my score sheet, but I maintained a stern and dignified expression, shaking my head.
“It’s not that I’m picky. Their level is just too low. Everyone who’s appeared so far doesn’t even meet the basics.”
“Meow, Wade is acting like a great maestro, meow.”
“This isn’t an act. It’s the primal instinct of my soul, resonating with the essence of art.”
This was, of course, my biased judgment.
I had no intention of choosing anyone other than Lumia as the female lead.
Thus, everyone except her was destined to receive a zero from me.
Louis, observing me, nodded in agreement.
“Oh… we have a discerning eye here. I feel the same. The quality of participants so far has been abysmal.”
“Did you also give everyone a zero?”
“Indeed.”
“Haha, as expected of a maestro. You’re on another level.”
Perfect.
This meant Louis’s evaluations wouldn’t matter, as he was giving zeroes to everyone.
If I gave Lumia a perfect score, she would naturally become the female lead.
The only wildcard was Serena, but since she didn’t seem knowledgeable about acting, I could easily sway her.
After a while, it was finally Lumia’s turn.
She reluctantly stepped onto the stage, as she wasn’t particularly interested in the female lead role.
It was only because I had begged her to audition once.
“Um… I-I’ll s-s-start… n-now…”
Lumia, trembling like a leaf, began her performance.
Her task was to portray a scene where the female lead realizes the male lead is her enemy, feeling both rage and deep conflict due to her overwhelming love for him.
Instead of Kalian, a stand-in was on stage as her partner for the scene.
All she needed to do was act toward him.
“Y-you… you b-betrayed… me… b-b-betrayal…”
Her words stumbled out awkwardly, as if she were frozen in the harshest winter.
She couldn’t act, and she could barely speak.
Her partner, unsure of what to do, glanced at the judges’ table, seemingly asking if he had done something wrong or trying to make sense of the situation.
Wait, hold on.
She performed decently during practice outside the stage.
Why this sudden change? This is putting me in a tough spot.
“She’s far too timid.”
As expected, Louis delivered a harsh critique.
“Her appearance is beautiful—perfect for the female lead. However, an actor must dominate the audience, not be overwhelmed by them. There’s no need to watch any further.”
“Wait a moment. I have a different opinion,” I interjected.
“Hmm?” Louis raised an eyebrow, looking at me with curiosity.
I confidently scribbled a perfect score on the evaluation sheet, then gestured toward Lumia, speaking in the most solemn tone I could muster.
“Louis, can you not see it? The eternal, blazing light within that woman?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just because the sun is temporarily hidden by clouds doesn’t mean it ceases to shine. Within her trembling, I can see a brilliant talent waiting to emerge.”
“I don’t see it at all,” Louis retorted, unimpressed by my exaggerated declaration.
Even Serena seemed skeptical.
“I don’t get it either, meow.”
“Serena, not you too… Think about it again. Or just look at her face. Isn’t she beautiful? How can someone with that face not be the female lead?”
“Her appearance is amazing, meow. But with that much stammering… I don’t think this will become a proper play, meow.”
Not even Serena, who values appearance above all else, was on my side.
Why were they being so harsh? It was just stage fright! Couldn’t they cut her some slack?
No matter how much I argued, both Serena and Louis gave Lumia a score of zero.
Sigh… It looks like I’ll have to resort to Plan B.
As Lumia trudged off the stage, I turned to Serena.
“Then… how about you becoming the female lead?”
“Meow? What are you talking about?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. What do you think about taking the role of the female lead yourself?”
“That wasn’t part of the plan, meow. I’m in charge of managing the play, and I don’t have time to take on a role, meow.”
“Come on… let’s set aside such rigid thinking.”
If Lumia couldn’t be the female lead, Serena could take the role.
This would still align with my plan.
After all, she was also a main heroine, so it wouldn’t disrupt the story I envisioned.
With a warm smile, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Serena… you’re too naive. Are you really going to ignore such a great opportunity that has come right to you?”
“Meow?”
“Don’t you understand yet? If you become the female lead, you’ll get to act as Kalian’s lover.”
“Meow?!”
Serena jumped up from her seat, startled by my words.
Leaning in so Louis wouldn’t hear, I whispered into her ear,
“Depending on how the script is written, you could hold hands with him, embrace him… or maybe even kiss him.”
“Meooow?!”
“Normally, someone of your Bronze status wouldn’t be allowed such privileges, but for the sake of the play, I’d be willing to make an exception… unless you don’t want it, of course.”
“W-Wait!”
After a moment of contemplation, she answered.
“Alright, meow! I’ll participate in the audition for the female lead, meow!”
Her declaration was firm and resolute.
And then she was immediately eliminated.
“Meow. You… betrayed me, meow? Since when have you been hiding the fact that you’re the enemy of my family, meow? I can’t forgive you, meow. I’ll… I’ll kill you, meow!”
The problem was her habit of ending every sentence with “meow.”
What was supposed to be a serious and tragic scene became hilariously absurd thanks to her delivery.
Louis shook his head, commenting, “Theater is not a joke,” and gave her a score of zero.
I, once again, gave her a perfect score, trying my best to make her the female lead. However…
“Meow… It’s just not working, meow. There’s no way this play will be successful like this, meow.”
Even Serena scratched her head awkwardly and gave herself a zero.
My carefully laid plans were already beginning to fall apart.