"...?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"Ah, no... Esther asked me to ask you earlier."
Esther was one of the three students who had come looking for Leo earlier.
I wondered why she looked back at the end, turns out she wanted to ask this.
So, she's asking if I became 10th in the department through short-term memory.
If I say yes, they probably want me to take the role of Faust.
"No."
I'll just answer the question for now, but it was a decent idea.
It's true that even though I didn't cram, my good memory allowed me to easily rank within the top of the school.
Even so, it's surprising they'd consider entrusting it to me. They must really want to put on a proper play no matter what.
'They're truly desperate.'
"Got it. Thanks for the answer. And... Elias!"
As the vice-president rubbed his hands together pleadingly, making a 'please try to memorize it' gesture, Elias, who was sprawled on the lounge sofa, flipped the cover of the script.
"Alright, fine. I'll just read this, Luca."
"I'm reading it. I'm going to look for Nark a bit."
"Huh? I heard the others went out looking for Nark Oswald earlier."
"Really?"
Come to think of it, Nark wasn't in the Class 2 practice room I peeked into earlier either.
"If he were here, he'd have come hopping like a rabbit, right? You're looking for him a lot."
That's true.
Pie usually knew where everyone was even without looking.
Given that he hasn't warped into my pocket or jumped onto a windowsill even once, it seems he really did go outside.
*Squeak—*
[Paging first-year Magic Department student Amalia Castel of Class 2. Repeating the announcement...]
Then, a paging announcement came through.
Seeing it's a first-year Magic Department student, they're probably looking for that student from earlier.
'So the school has been informed.'
Now the response is up to the school.
Personally, I'm bothered by the fact that similar cases happened on the same day, around the same time, but I don't know how the school will actually perceive the two disappearances.
'It feels uneasy no matter how I think about it. Maybe I should talk to someone.'
I went outside and found a school guard.
After asking him to report it to the Investigation Bureau, I returned to the student council building and sat on the sofa where Elias was.
"Where'd you go?"
"To report the missing students. It's all done now."
Fortunately, the guard didn't show any reluctance and readily agreed.
The school might have already reported it as a disappearance, but anyway, even if it's a duplicate report, taking some action is better than doing nothing.
"Really? Then use that special class memorization power of yours to save Class 2 a bit."
I said I didn't cram...
I answered Elias's joke with a laugh and opened the script.
I was quietly reading for a surprisingly long time, but around the time I started yawning, Elias suddenly sat bolt upright and whispered in my ear.
"...Is this the first time you have given false testimony? Look within yourself. Do you truly know more about yourself than about Herr Schubertlein's death?"
"..."
Suddenly?
He must want me to retort.
I answered as it came to me.
"...You are an utterly incorrigible sophist."
"Ooh, so the midterms *were* cramming~?"
"No."
I hadn't intentionally tried to memorize it, but given the situation, I found myself reading the script as if studying without realizing it.
Elias muttered even more quietly.
"Luca, you're perfect. At this point with 1 hour and 30 minutes left, you're the only human who can memorize a 40-minute script entirely. I knew it from when they said you jumped from 98th to 10th at once."
Before I could answer, Elias continued immediately.
"It's a problem, right? Your brother would hate you becoming Faust."
"More unexpected than hateful."
"Then, what about you? Do you want to do it?"
"I don't have any particular thoughts. But seeing the kids like this, I do feel sorry for them."
They really worked hard for two weeks.
I remember because the noise interfered with my divine power studies.
When I saw Nark after finishing the conversation earlier, he was also very excited, so seeing things turn out like this doesn't feel great. Not that anyone would be in a particularly good mood in this situation.
"You're kind. But if it's a situation where your brother would object, I can't really encourage it further either."
"Well... I wouldn't step forward first, but it's not like I *can't* go out."
"Hmm?"
Elias opened his eyes wide and looked at me.
'...Now that I've said it, it sounds a bit strange.'
I didn't bring this up because I wanted to be in the play, but because I need to start sharing the plan soon.
When I made a look, Elias cast a sound-blocking spell.
"Thanks. Eli, did you listen to the Strauch recording?"
"I did. I was curious what on earth he said."
"Then you'll understand quickly. We need to change this side's impression too, not just Nikolaus's."
Elias narrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Changed your strategy? Yeah, continuing with this image now is a bit unreasonable."
"Right. I thought I should tell you and the others."
"So, you're not going to be in the play~?"
Elias raised one eyebrow and looked at me.
"If I'm pushed into it, it's fine, but otherwise, no."
If I resolve this situation, it could definitely become the first means to change Luca's impression.
'But there are also things to lose simultaneously.'
For the few days after the news gets to him, my brother will pay more attention to my situation.
Of course, that's also why I don't need to vehemently refuse when the stage is set.
With the premise that I'm an avoidance target for students established, if the fact that I was pushed into it reaches my brother, the situation changes in a complex way.
'...This is more like... bullying, isn't it?'
Anyway, more important than the fact of 'participating in an event' are the various factors required for that decision. The degree of crisis my brother feels will vary depending on the process through which I ended up on that stage.
"Being pushed into it is fine... Then we have no choice but to push you, right? It'd be fun to see you stand as Faust too."
"No, there's no need to push first."
"You'd definitely draw an audience too?! Hey, isn't the whole school coming?"
Why go that far?
I just chuckled at his words.
At 9 o'clock, Leo returned.
It was now Class 1's performance time, so all Class 1 students had moved to the auditorium, and the student council building was quiet too.
The script I was reading now only had three or four pages left.
Elias asked with a sigh.
"Why are you the one coming back?"
"That's harsh."
Leo plopped down on a chair with a tired face.
Elias relayed the professor's words to Leo.
"The professor said they couldn't find him at other schools either."
"I thought so. I went there, and they were paging for Oswald over the speakers. If he hasn't shown up even after all that..."
"He either changed his mind at the last minute, or something happened. I vote for the latter."
Leo answered with a dark expression.
"Yeah, I think the same. So I requested an investigation as soon as I went out."
"Class 2, please move to the auditorium green room by 9:30!"
Then, someone shouted while going down the hallway.
Even though there were Class 2 students scattered about, the hallway was dead silent.
Leo looked toward the hallway with a troubled face and got up from his seat.
"Let's head out too. There'll be kids over there as well."
* * *
"Did you find the lead?"
As we entered through the auditorium's back door, a few Class 1 students asked Leo and Elias, seeing them. Annoyingly, their faces were full of smiles. Judging by how familiarly they acted, they seemed to be friends who had known the two since the 3rd Educational Institute.
Leo shook his head and walked past him.
The Class 1 student shouted after Leo.
"Leo, we have 113 people gathered now!"
"...So what..."
Leo muttered with an unusually disgusted face.
'113 is quite a gathering.'
Considering the whole school has about 1,000 students, it's a significant number.
"Oh, you can say things like that too."
"I have no idea what you take me for."
At Elias's words, Leo gave a hollow laugh like he did during the day and opened the green room door.
Upon entering the Class 2 green room, the depressed atmosphere was immediately palpable, unlike the lively bustle outside.
One student blurted out as soon as Leo entered.
"...Leo, what do we do. We have 40 minutes left."
"..."
Leo just bit his lip, unable to give any particular answer.
Nark, who made eye contact with me, nodded in greeting.
Meanwhile, another student offered an opinion.
"Should we make the audience Faust? How about it?"
"Mephistopheles performs alone?"
"Yeah."
"If all the supporting roles are gone, we probably won't have enough runtime."
After a brief exchange of opinions, silence fell.
The gloomy mood continued.
'Hmm...'
They're really down.
They prepared but it looks like it'll fall apart before even starting, so no one's in a good mood.
'Should I help a little?'
I have one idea.
To even bring it up, I need to test it first.
I tapped Elias's arm and slipped out of the green room.
About 5 minutes after I left, Elias came out of the green room looking for me.
I gestured to him and, without opening my mouth, activated my divine power.
—"Can you hear me?"
"...?"
Elias stared at me with wide eyes.
—"Seems you heard."
"What...!"
Elias's mouth hung open as if his jaw would drop.
It was the magic Nark used on me when we went to investigate the Dasrote interview photo.
Back then, I thought it might be useful and decided to learn it.
It paid off, studying divine power while the others were talking about the play.
'I didn't know I'd use what I learned to help with their play, though...'
—"As long as it works. Do you think you can do improv? You read the script, so you know the flow better than before, right?"
Elias, who had been listening with a confused face, nodded.
Then he whispered softly.
"The runtime."
—"I don't think they'll complain much if we end around 35 minutes. I'll help you time it around then."
"...Ah, so that's how you're helping."
The corners of Elias's mouth shot up.
Elias flicked his fingers and activated a spell. It seemed to prevent others from detecting the flow of my magic.
—"Right, listen well. I'll tell you how much and what kind of dialogue you need to extend. With that, you should be able to match the runtime even with improv, right?"
"That's true. What about timing? We have to consider the delay from you checking the script and relaying it to me."
—"It might be a bit unnatural, but we'll have to accept that. But I've memorized all the necessary lines, so the delay on my end will be minimized."
"You memorized them all?! Then... it should be fine."
Elias stroked his chin and whistled.
"Tell the others yourself, Luca. You can say you're giving me private lessons on memorization techniques."
Perhaps remembering the plan I mentioned earlier, Elias said that and waited for a response.
I never intended to stay completely in the background from the start.
If it's a chance to improve the negative impression even a little, it's good to use it while helping.
"I will."
"But, wait."
As I tried to leave, Elias blocked my way and cast a sound-blocking spell.
"Hold on. Doesn't something feel ambiguous?"
"Hmm?"
"Your brother's informant is that Traut or whatever, the Magic Swordsmanship professor. And Nark is passing information to that professor."
"Right."
"Of course, you like to prepare thoroughly, so you're definitely considering other informants too, right? Am I correct?"
That's right.
I nodded.
"But for you to benefit, you need to advertise that you helped me. Like the memorization technique private lessons I mentioned."
Elias emphasized the word 'advertise'. Then he tilted his head and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Ah! Wait. Don't say you're just purely helping or anything. Honestly, it's too good to waste. It's a chance to become Class 2's hero."
To that extent...
It's a very Elias-like expression.
Anyway, I didn't plan to say that either.
I smiled, giving a signal to continue, and listened to what Elias said.
If it were anyone else, maybe not, but if the protagonist is speaking, it's worth hearing.
"Then, will the news that you actively helped with the play not reach your brother?"
"..."
It probably will.
I shook my head slightly.
"That much is fine. Since the kids connected my memory to the midterms, it'll reach my brother that way too. It's not an illogical inference, so it's okay."
Actually, I wondered if my brother might not even know his brother's traits, but until now, there was no opportunity for my brother to learn about Luca's characteristics, be it memory or anything else.
My brother has been attending school all along, and Luca was holed up at home.
Luca was quite bright as a child anyway.
Memory and intelligence don't completely correlate, but since most people don't distinguish them much, it doesn't matter.
"Alright, then. I also think that much isn't a big problem. So... listen."
Elias said to me with an undisguised mischievous smile.
"Whether the news that reaches your brother is that I went out with your help, or that you were pushed into going out yourself, the essence is still the news that you saved Class 2 in crisis. This is an opportunity, Luca. Pushing your face forward yourself will change your image more definitively than using me as a front."
That's true.
Then Elias waved his hands.
"Wait, let me correct that. This alone won't change your image all at once. But it could be a cornerstone, right? Lay that cornerstone now. There aren't many chances to lay a cornerstone of this scale."
'Is this guy a ghost...?'
I was about to say it wouldn't change all at once anyway. He's sharp.
"Hmm..."
It wasn't in the plan, so I wasn't trying to scale it up, but Elias's words aren't wrong.
If we can just create the situation safely, it's a golden opportunity.
Since it's a field I've dipped my toes in before in reality, participating in such an event isn't completely foreign.
Just as I was about to answer, Elias brought his face close to my ear and whispered.
"And if you go out, you'll draw 500 people in one minute."
"..."
Was he also concerned about audience numbers...?
Now that he's in Class 2, he seems to be thinking for Class 2 in his own way.
I nodded.
"Alright, then."
"Ah~ This'll be fun. I'll enjoy the play~! I saw you during poker, and you act well anyway."
That and acting aren't the same, but it's true it's not a completely unrelated field for me, so I didn't bother saying it.
More importantly, if I'm going to be in the play, I need to start acting now.
"Then I need your help now, Eli."
At those words, Elias confidently raised his thumb without even asking back.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just trust me. I'll properly leave them speechless."
"...Leave them speechless?"
For some reason, that gesture implying I don't need an explanation bothers me.
And I understood why Elias was so confident as soon as we entered the green room.
Elias, with his magic-fixed crutch, grabbed my shoulder tightly and shouted loudly.
"Hey, guys! I found the lead!"
—-----------
T/N:
Free members get 10 advanced chapters every week.
Want more? Get access to 40 chapters ahead on Patreon:
[email protected]//hiddenmage