Script (1)

Elise arrived at the meeting place. It was a small theater they had rented for the next two weeks. They planned to rehearse the script here and perform the play on the festival day in two weeks

Before entering, she first pressed her ear to the door.

This assignment was a real disaster. I mean, who the hell smashed all the desks?

Exactly. But dont you think it gave us more discernment? Those who cant do Magic Body dropped out immediately because they couldnt stand the cold. I managed to last 23 hours.

23 hours.

For reference, Elises record is less than 15 hours.

The urge to turn around and run away was overwhelming, but she suppressed it desperately and knocked on the door.

Ah. Elise must be here.

Haah.

After taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

Inside the theater, the gazes of the six people she had personally cast were focused on her. All the contempt in their eyes was suspect, but she spoke calmly.

Is everyone here?

Yeah. All six of us are here.

Wendy answered. As she spoke, she licked her lips slightly.

Why is she doing that? Its like shes mocking.

Elise walked over and sat down on a chair.

Shall we start?

She spoke as businesslike as possible.

She intended to limit todays topic to official matters only. Anything related to the College Board or grades was strictly off-limits.

Huh? Were starting like this? Isnt Shion missing?

Senior James asked. Elise asked back in a low voice.

Why do you ask about that person?

Well, wasnt he the one writing the script?

Thats right.

As she answered, she pulled out seven copies of the script from her Charment bag.

Charment is a high-end luxury brand. Not just any noble can afford it, and the company even considers the buyers reputation and fame when selling this ultra-expensive artifact handbag.

Shion Ascal wanted to do The Bard for the play. What do you all think?

What? The Bard is a bit.

Exactly. The Bard is not so great.

This is the normal reaction. Cultured people who have properly learned Latinel react this way. Its one of the least appreciated plays among the 23 Latinel lines, so they cant help but show their disapproval.

He says hell adapt it himself, but we dont have time until then. We only have two weeks until the festival.

Elise handed out the scripts one by one.

Its The Cunning King. I adapted it.

She had written it herself and even had it bound in hardcover.

[The Cunning King Author Elise]

As she stroked the cover, Elise shrugged her shoulders with a sense of pride.

Ah~ The Cunning King? Nice.

Its the most comfortable to act. Because its familiar.

The Edsilla University students chimed in. Miller and Sasha. These two were theater and film students aspiring to be actors, minoring in Latinel, so they were trustworthy.

Their cultural knowledge and wisdom were farmuch deeper than Shion Ascals.

Right, were acting this in Latinel, arent we?

Yes. The acting is in the common language. There will be a few Latinel lines mixed in the dialogue.

The theme of the festival play is [The Popularization of Latinel], but if the performance is in Latinel, a language unknown to the public, it wont be able to attract the publics attention.

But we dont need staff?

College student Miller asked.

I can pick out a few people. Those who are currently active in the industry.

The budget for this festival play set by Endex is 100,000 Ren. Of course, she could ask her mother for help, but its also necessary to have the experience of doing it on her own.

Thats good. If there are staff who want to do it, send me the list. Ill select.

Do we not need to pay them? I mean, they-

We should. Ill set it to the industry average.

Considering the cost of stage props, appearance fees, and rental fees, its going to be very tight, but if the ticket price is appropriately set, it should be covered to some extent.

Then

Elise looked around the table.

Shion Ascal is nowhere to be found here. Therefore, the invitation will naturally become her responsibility.

Of course, this wasnt the plan from the beginning.

A fair competition was rather what Elise had hoped for.

Its all because of the peculiar play, The Bard, that the bastard with a weird taste got himself into.

Shall we start the script reading?

Elise opened the first page of [The Cunning King]. The smell of the paper reaching her nose was fragrant.

Saturday afternoon at 6 oclock, the senior-only floor of the Endex library.

[First crime scene. Please come to the alley of Geldio by 1 a.m. on Monday.]

Soliettes message is written on the shared notebook on my desk. Its the first field trip with the client.

I wrote a reply.

[Confirmed.]

Nothing after that.

Its awkwardly noticeable.

After some thought, I added a sentence.

[Are you okay?]

[Im fine. Its my fault for trusting you. You are a betrayer.]

Soliette wrote back as if she had been waiting.

[What are you talking about. You betrayed Gerkhen Kal Doon too.]

[It was a planned betrayal. Yet you]

The sentence that was being written roughly was cut off, and it continued in a slightly elongated handwriting.

Even that is extremely aristocratic handwriting.

[Enough. Please come to the alley of Geldio by 1 a.m. You should not write personal conversations in this shared notebook.]

Anyway, shes upset. I put the notebook in the pocket of my uniform.

I stared at the completely empty note, the very reason I came to the library, for a while.

On the day when the grueling 30-hour college board ended, I am trying to write a script.

Ah. Why dont I want to do it?

But I just cant find the motivation.

Is it because of the hangover from the college board, or because Ive never written a play script before?

[Title : The Bard]

I cant move beyond the title.

Should I just give up now?

Its quite bothersome.

I just poked at the poor notebook and looked around.

?

Suddenly, a coffee machine caught my eye.

Installed in a corner of the library, the machine was emitting a faint aroma of coffee beans.

Coffee.

Caffeine.

One of the 48 habits I had quit a long time ago, in a promise to become healthier.

Hmm

But, lets think about it again.

Is caffeine really bad for the body? Is it utterly harmful like cigarettes or drugs?

Probably not.

Despite this, should I be deprived of the joy and effects that caffeine can provide, simply because Im a cancer patient?

That shouldnt be the case.

Drinking coffee doesnt stop tomorrow from coming.

Rather, it might lead us to a brighter tomorrow by focusing us on today

Okay.

I abruptly stood up. I placed a paper cup in the coffee machine and pressed the button.

The machine whirred, filling the cup with a brown liquid.

As I blankly stared at it, a question arose.

What would happen if I added Perion to this coffee?

Could Perion upgrade the awakening effect of caffeine?

If possible, it seems like it would be a great help for writing.

Why not give it a try.

I drew upon the magic from the Magic Core.

A colorless stream of energy flowed from my palm. I poured it into the liquid.

Did it work?

I gently shook the paper cup. The coffee sloshed around. On the surface, it seemed unchanged.

It shouldnt be a carcinogen.

An alkaloid compound that awakens the brain and activates metabolism, upgraded by my magic.

Even if it were a carcinogen, it wouldnt matter since I already have cancer, but just in case, I took a small sip.

I smacked my lips, tasting it, and waited quietly.

Nothing special.

Its disappointing, but what dramatic effect could I expect from just upgrading the caffeine in coffee? It would be fortunate if it could just chase away sleep.

As I was thinking this and putting down the paper cup.

?

My pupils dilated. My heart pounded rapidly, and a passion surged from my brain. It felt like a fierce flame was flowing from my essence.

It was an awakening.

I quickly sat down. I gripped a pen and stared at the notebook.

A blank page of the notebook, only titled The Bard.

The blank page, like a silver screen, replayed a memory from some time ago.

The theater where Theia Esil almost dragged Gerkhen Kal Doon and me.

A time before the regression, now gone.

The scene from then vividly came to mind, and I felt as if I was being drawn into that place

The Bard tells stories. Among the stories are tragedies and comedies. He tells comedies as if they are tragedies, and tragedies as if they are comedies.

The actors lines echo. The audiences breaths can be heard. The fine dust and air of the theater touch my skin.

I am now sitting in a seat at the Edsilla Opera House.

When I turn my head to the side, I see Theia Esil, engrossed in the play.

When I turn the other way, I see Gerkhen Kal Doon, similarly absorbed in the play.

What the

I hastily shook my head. In that moment, I was out of the opera house.

Again, it was the Endex library.

Chills.

A memory from the past that felt so real it could confuse reality. An experience that was too vividly intense.

I almost got buried in the Notepad without realizing it.

Phew

I took a deep breath. After calming down for a moment, I took another sip of coffee. But this time, I consciously restrained my focus.

Like lying on a sofa watching TV, from a suitable distance, immersion, not burial.

The Bard sings stories.

In front of me, the lines of the musical that rise like a drama and the expressions of the actors.

I transferred them directly to the notebook.

Its over

Feeling dizzy, I leaned back in my chair. I dropped the pen and notebook from my hand. Only about three sips of coffee were left, and it was already 11 oclock at night.

[The Bard]

The script is, probably perfect.

After all, I melted the entirety of that musical, which I revisited through memory, into a script.

Ah, Im tired.

My whole body feels like its melting, and my head is quite dizzy. Is it the aftereffect of caffeine awakening? Or because I focused too much?

I clumsily gathered my notes and got up.

Clang-

But the door opened first.

At the time when ordinary peoples work ends, there was a human who came carrying things to study.

Of course, its Elise.

Whats with you.

Elise didnt say anything. Her complexion wasnt good either. Probably because of this college board. Because she dropped out of the middle rank.

She sat down anywhere and opened a book. It was a college textbook again.

Hey. The script is finished.

I said so and approached her. Elise still didnt answer. I put the script on her desk, which was only looking at the textbook.

Read it. Dont be gloomy.

Shut up.

Shes not gloomy.

Anyway, since youre the lead, memorize all the lines.

At that, Elises pupils shook slightly. She seemed to have something to say, her lips slightly puckered, but soon she shook her head without saying anything.

Yawn Im leaving.

I yawned and went outside.