Chapter 53 : Is This A Play (4)

The first play ended safely.

A monster barged in, the theater was wrecked, and the Imperial Knights exterminated the demons, but all things considered, it was safe enough.

After the Imperial Knights left, the play was somehow brought to a conclusion, earning high praise from the audience.

— “It was truly a living play.”

— “I’ve never experienced such a thrilling performance in my life.”

— “Was the appearance of the Imperial Knights also part of the play?”

The audience seemed highly satisfied with our performance.

Perhaps they were used to life-threatening situations, as they didn’t seem too bothered by the chaos.

Instead, they appeared to enjoy the intense stimulation.

Louis, the theater expert, was displeased that nothing had gone according to his intentions, yet, at the same time, he seemed secretly pleased.

— “I’ve spent my whole life creating plays, but I’ve never made such a vivid piece like this. I’m getting new inspiration.”

Louis promised to dedicate himself fully to this play until the festival ended.

While everyone else was satisfied, the only one who suffered a loss was Serena.

“The cost of repairing the theater is no joke, meow…!”

She had to spend all the money earned today to repair the wrecked theater.

Originally, Arcana should have been responsible for the repairs since they allowed the monster to invade, but because we introduced it as part of the theater’s setup, we had to take full responsibility.

“If we combine all the ticket sales from today, is it enough for the repairs?”

“It’s not enough, meow. We need at least two more days’ worth, meow. At this rate, we’ll barely break even or might even go into the red, meow…”

“You’ll have to work a little harder, then.”

The only silver lining for her was that the actors didn’t demand a share of the ticket sales.

They were all wealthy nobles, after all.

So, while all the profit went to Serena, so did all the losses.

I’ll have to repay her someday.

After all, Serena made this sacrifice for Evelyn.

If she had ignored my words, the corrupted Evelyn would have been exterminated by Arcana’s forces by now.

After wrapping up for the day, I stepped out of the theater with Kalian.

With so much to clean up, night had already fallen upon Arcana.

Kalian asked,

“What happened to Evelyn?”

“She’s being protected somewhere safe. She probably hasn’t woken up yet. She pushed herself too hard, so her body must be under a lot of strain.”

“Still, it’s a relief that nothing bad happened.”

“Yeah.”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even realized that was Evelyn. I nearly cut down my own friend.”

We strolled through the festival.

Thanks to magic and lighting, the midnight festival was as bright as day.

Just a while ago, monsters and demons had appeared, yet people were now leisurely enjoying street food and celebrating.

I asked Kalian,

“Why did you step in earlier?”

“Hm?”

“When the knight commander was making a scene. You’re usually a meddler, but I didn’t expect that.”

“Oh, that.”

Thanks to Kalian, I avoided a direct clash with the Demon King, but I still didn’t understand why he intervened.

As annoying as Gerald is, hunting and killing demons is common practice in this country.

“I just… thought it was the right thing to do.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“I remembered how you took care of her. None of the people you’ve protected so far were evil. So, I figured maybe she wasn’t a demon either.”

“In other words, you didn’t really think too hard about it.”

“I trusted you.”

What a carefree guy.

If I hadn’t tampered with the purification stone, even someone from a prestigious family like Kalian would have been in a difficult situation.

Still, it’s a strange thing.

In the original story, I remember Kalian and the Demon King’s first meeting being incredibly gloomy.

Compared to that, this is a huge difference.

Kalian is destined to kill the Demon King with his own hands one day, yet here he is, saving her from danger.

Will this bring about some kind of positive change?

I can’t be sure, but there’s one thing that bothers me.

Alcatraz.

I have no idea what that bastard might do, so I need to figure out a way to deal with him as soon as possible.

If possible, I’d like to kill him right away.

“You were here.”

Just as I was deep in thought about the Demon King and Alcatraz, a woman called out to us from behind.

Kalian and I turned our heads to see the Demon King standing there with her arms crossed.

She was alone—Alcatraz wasn’t with her.

“So, we meet again. What do you want?”

“I was looking for you two.”

“Why?”

The Demon King didn’t answer my question and instead strode forward.

Her face was serious, her body tense, and her fists clenched tight.

At a glance, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she suddenly launched into an attack.

Had she realized that Kalian was humanity’s hope and come to kill him?

Or had she received some kind of order from Alcatraz?

Suddenly—

She grabbed Kalian’s arm.

“…I enjoyed it.”

“Huh?”

“The play. I really enjoyed watching it.”

“Oh… uh, thank you.”

Kalian nodded blankly, still caught off guard.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that before. I always thought plays were just made-up stories, but this was different.
It felt like a real, living experience.”

“Haha… I see…”

“It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life. Do you always create things like this?”

The Demon King’s eyes sparkled.

Hmm. I wasn’t sure where to start correcting her.

It seemed she hadn’t come here to fight—she had come to praise the play.

Her eyes gleamed like those of a devoted fan meeting their favorite celebrity.

“Not always. Today was a special occasion, and it was actually my first time acting in a play.”

“You’ve never done a play before, and yet you pulled off something like that?”

“Well… yeah, I guess so.”

“Ooooh…”

Kalian tried to explain that he wasn’t an amazing actor, but the Demon King wasn’t listening at all.

She still hadn’t let go of his arm, so I decided to step in.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let go of his hand now.”

“What are you doing?”

The Demon King glared at me, as if I were interrupting a fan meeting.

But I didn’t back down. Instead, I responded with an even more arrogant expression.

“What do you think you’re doing? Kalian is our play’s precious leading man. Do you think you can just touch him like that?”

“I only grabbed his arm.”

“A great actor’s body requires delicate care. What if your careless handling causes problems for his next performance?”

“As if something like this could cause—”

“Do you even know anything about theater?”

“…No.”

If she had been the persistent type, she might have argued further, but the Demon King simply backed off without much resistance.

“But why are you here? I doubt you came just to say you enjoyed the play.”

“I came to express my gratitude. Not just because you both gave me such an enjoyable experience, but for something else as well.”

“Something else?”

“When I got into that scuffle with the knight earlier, you two helped me. I wanted to thank you for that. I appreciate it.”

The Demon King gave us a small bow.

Wait a minute…

The greatest enemy of this world, the final boss, suddenly shows up just to thank us?

Even in my past life, I felt it—nothing in this world ever goes the way I expect.

“Your name was Kalian, right? I owe you a great debt in particular. You blocked that knight’s sword for me at the very beginning.”

“It wasn’t anything remarkable.”

“No, it was. If you hadn’t stepped in, a lot of blood would have been spilled today. You stopped that from happening.”

“Is that so.”

“But there’s something I want to ask you.”

The Demon King took a step closer to Kalian.

So close, their lips were almost touching.

“You acted as if you believed I was human. But what if I had truly been a demon, and the purification stone had identified me as one again?
What would you have done?”

“If you were a demon?”

Kalian, wanting to put some distance between them, naturally placed his hands on her shoulders.

Right now, he was probably screaming internally.

But outwardly, he forced himself to remain calm as he answered.

“In that case, I would have done nothing and simply watched as you were killed.”

“I see… so that’s how it is.”

The Demon King lowered her head slightly, looking somewhat disappointed.

But Kalian continued speaking.

“However, I would have mourned for you.”

“You would have mourned? Even though demons and humans are enemies?”

“Yes, we are enemies.
My family has suffered at the hands of demons, and I, too, have my own reasons for wanting revenge.”

“…”

“But even so, demons have hearts, just as we do.
I can’t bring myself to hate them entirely.
Not all demons are evil, after all.”

Kalian spoke his thoughts plainly.

In the original story, he harbored a deep hatred for demons, sharpening his blade for the sole purpose of wiping them out.

But now, after my influence, that hatred had softened—if only a little.

From his childhood, I had taught him that demons were no different from humans, that they merely stood on opposite sides.

“A being with a heart…”

Hearing his words, the Demon King widened her eyes in surprise.

Kalian smiled, and for a long moment, she simply gazed at him in silence.