SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 192: Prima Donna (4)

Upon hearing Sonia’s determined declaration, the one I had been waiting for, I circled my aura within me. The intoxication slowly wore off.

Finally, I feel like I’m waking up.

In my Tower, it was common etiquette to not use aura to stay sober while everyone was out drinking. Doing so was considered rude. As much as I loved this drinking etiquette, it was even more impolite to listen to Sonia’s serious decision-making while intoxicated.

My clothes... What? Why is my shirt a mess?

How drunk did I get last night? Was this because it had been a while since I last had a drink?

“I’m sorry, Sonia. Is it okay if I take a quick shower before we talk? I want to listen to you with a clear head.”

—Ah, well, you don’t need to go that far...

“I need to.”

Anyone who confided in me about their important decisions had to be treated with respect.

“There’s probably a stream nearby. I’ll be quick, so can you wait here for a moment?”

—Yes, Sonia answered, her voice quieter for some reason.

I went to the stream and sank myself in it. I had my eye on this place last night while riding the flying bathtub. As I soaked in the cool water, the alcohol completely washed away from my veins. I stood up only after reciting the Demonic Heaven Arts from Form 1 to Form 7.

“Let’s sit down and talk,” I told Sonia.

—Okay.

“Do you want to act in the next performance yourself?”

She nodded.

“Instead of retiring, you want to continue to be a Cavefire actress,” I speculated.

—That’s right.

“If it’s okay, can you tell me why?”

Sonia contemplated, cautiously choosing her next words. As I looked at the eager child in front of me, I suddenly thought of something completely unrelated to what was happening right now.

I’m the same as the orphanage director.

Whenever a child wanted to open up to him about something, the director carefully prepared himself. The time I had spent with him remained so deep inside my soul that as soon as I woke up, I washed away my leftover intoxication.

I calmly waited for Sonia to speak. She only opened her mouth once the sunlight fully dried my already aura-dried hair.

—It’s definitely not that I don’t like my life. I’m treated very highly at the moment. In fact, I’m really happy to enjoy this luck for free. Yes, my family and my kin won’t be able to disregard me anymore. There is a huge amount of gold coins piled up in my deposit. Thanks to you, I can live happily for the rest of my life...

Sonia raised her head slightly.

The Black Witch and the Paladin were talking in their sleep. The Black Dragon Master kept groaning and mentioning something about an engine running... I had no clue what she was dreaming about. The Paladin kept muttering ‘No’ and ‘This is a misunderstanding.’”

The Black Witch’s engine and the Paladin’s misunderstanding were mysteries to me. These two were my colleagues, but sometimes they were as funny as comedians.

Sonia took turns looking at all three of us.

—I became sure yesterday. You guys drank, talked, danced, played music, and sang... At that moment, I thought this is what life should feel like. No, I thought it would be nice if my life would also be just like this.

She tightly clenched her fists on top of her knees.

—I don’t know why it felt so real hearing you talk and laugh, but I want to experience that too. I’ll also go on stage. I also... want to live a beautiful life, just like you guys.

I nodded. At some point, I had also been in Sonia’s shoes, so I knew what she most desperately needed to hear at this moment.

“I’ll help you.”

I opened the Civilization Store.

[You have purchased Dream Appearance.]

[You have used 100 species points!]

[You now have 6,602 species points.]

“You have been watching me from closer than anyone else. The choreography, stagecraft, and aura utilization method that I came up with—you watched and learned everything as if I was your personal teacher. In theory, there is nothing more for me to teach you, so all that remains is for you to gain experience.”

—Okay!

“Before I help you, let me ask you one thing,” I added with a kind smile. As the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the heir of the Demonic Heaven Art, I was supposed to adhere to tradition. “Sonia, have you ever starved? If so, for how many days?”

Silence hung in the air. The Sylvan who had been born into a wealthy merchant family tilted her head.

—What?

What a good response! It took less than thirty minutes for Sonia’s cute confusion to shatter into screams.

***

After going through hellish training, the day of the performance finally arrived. For me, it was the last performance I would direct in this world. However, it would be a thrilling debut stage for Sonia.

[You have made progress in the quest Warring Theaters Period.]

[Heretic erosion level is at 11%.]

The quest of this stage was also progressing very smoothly. Everybody in the city was already familiar with the new type of Cavefire I came up with, also known as a dance drama. Other troupes were also quietly jumped on the bandwagon. The quest would be completed on its own if I just waited a bit.

Below us, spectators were finding their seats.

“Wow, this is my first time seeing this play from the audience’s perspective,” I said cheerfully. “This is a new experience for me. What about you, Black Dragon Master? Are you nervous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous...”

The Black Witch brushed the side of her hair back, looking composed, but her other hand was clenched tightly. Even though she didn’t seem like it, she was indeed nervous.

I suppressed my laughter and turned toward my other colleague. “You look really good, Miss Paladin.”

“Hmm. I have been on stage many times and also ran a jazz bar. I got used to this to some extent, but I still feel a little nervous,” the Paladin answered.

“Huh? You even ran a jazz bar?”

The Paladin smiled bitterly. “It’s all in the past. I was busy during my second year at the Tower. In the past, I wanted to make a living singing jazz. Luckily, people liked my music.”

“Wow,” I exclaimed.

The Black Witch was no longer a vampire, and the Paladin was no longer a Fingill either. All of us were back to our original selves as we watched the stage while floating in the air. We had stopped using Person Possession.

“In the outside world, I could only dream about becoming a jazz singer, so it was a wonderful experience in many ways.”

The Black Witch tilted her head. “You told me not to bring up the story of past days. Why are you suddenly telling this to the Death King?”

“I changed my mind.”

“Hmm. You also tend to go back and forth a lot. What was the name of your jazz bar? I don’t remember.”

“Little Venice.”

“Oh, right. You went completely bankrupt because of that,” the Black Witch chuckled. “You borrowed money from those evil loan sharks and ended up in huge debt. I heard it from those mafiosos when I went out drinking with them. According to them, some idiotic Class S jackpot voluntarily crawled into their pocket or something.”

“Managing money is very difficult for me...”

“Find a way to overcome that. Because of you, the Watchmen League always struggles financially. Well, that was how you had your fateful encounter with...”

I pointed to the stage. “Shhh, I think it’s starting.”

The Black Witch and the Paladin immediately closed their mouths and turned their attention toward the stage. The Black Witch had written the script, the Paladin composed the music, and I planned the choreography. All of us had worked together for this. This was our first official collaboration.

On the dark stage, the actors started dancing. The Black Witch’s leg was shaking nervously. She hadn’t trembled even when she climbed up the Aegim Empire’s wall and gave a speech to the soldiers. Perhaps she got nervous at times like this.

I lightly held her arm.

“Death King.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you holding my elbow?”

“The standard move would be to hold hands, but the only hand I’m allowed to hold is Raviel’s. I find it a bit embarrassing to hold hands with friends, anyway[1]. But if I put my hand on your shoulder, that feels cocky. I compromised by touching your elbow.”

The Black Witch chuckled. “Hah. You really are crazy.”

“I know some people think that, Black Dragon Queen.”

“Really.”

The Black Witch sighed. Still, she looked much more relaxed as she watched the performance. Her leg stopped shaking too. The play went on.

The Black Witch frowned a bit. “Oh, no. I think they’re still not used to using aura.”

“They’re actually doing great. You can’t expect them to be at our level.”

The Paladin shrugged. “Perhaps it’s difficult to play music and dance at the same time... But the music sounds better than I thought. It’s not unbearable to listen to.”

Whispers could also be heard from the audience seats below.

“Uger. Don’t you feel as if something is off compared to the usual performances?”

“Is that so? This is my first time watching this play. I think it’s cool.”

“I’m not sure, but I feel like the aura is a bit weak...”

“Odd.”

The audience could tell right away.

This time, I sat out the performance. Until now, I had been coordinating the actors on the stage with my aura making up for whatever the actors lacked. When their aura was weak, I made mine stronger. However, all the actors took charge of their own aura, choreography, and music for this performance. The audience could feel my absence.

“Huff.”

Ilric, Yumar, Sakum, and Sonia danced as best as they could. With difficulty, every one of them managed to create the melody they were assigned to. I could see every drop of sweat my children shed.

I clenched my fists. It’s okay. It will go great. My children, you’re ready to succeed. Let’s go.

The audience’s murmur became increasingly louder. The more fanatical customers were about Troupe Yapper, the more disappointed they were.

“What is this?”

“Something is wrong.”

They didn’t hesitate to voice their criticism openly. The three of us stayed silent, swallowing our saliva.

The play was approaching its climax. All the actors suddenly stopped moving. The music of aura also stopped.

The dark theater was engulfed in sudden silence, taking the audience aback. Just before the silence could become awkward, Sonia, who played the role of the Duke of Ivansia, opened her mouth.

“Lascia, ch’io pianga...♪”

The song of red aura was quite loud. The audience flinched as soon as the first verse came out of Sonia’s mouth. She sounded very desperate as she sang, as if she was going to start coughing blood. Well, she had practiced so hard that she had indeed coughed blood.

“Mia cruda, sorte...♪”

It was impossible to teach Sonia to use her aura on my level in such a short period of time. Therefore, the Black Witch, the Paladin, and I had come together and introduced a stage technique where the lead actress was the only one to sing.

The Black Witch looked around to observe the audience’s reactions. She whispered, “Good, it’s working! It’s working!”

Our troupe’s Cavefire plays were famous for not having any lines. Sometimes the actors made noises during their dances, but they were just meaningless interjections like “Woo!” or “Hoo!” or other primordial pronunciations whose meaning had been deliberately scrubbed off.

No one in the audience expected an opera aria.

“La libertà...♪”

Sonia had the skills to turn a surprise into something pleasant rather than uncomfortable. This was all thanks to the intensive teaching and training I had done.

The lone Sylvan continued singing.

“La libertà...♪”

The Terras watched and listened to her aria blankly. Judging by the look in their eyes, we could tell this was a success.

“Thank god.”

“Yeah, though we kinda tricked the audience...”

“We had no choice. Even if the overall quality of the play is low, we can overcome that if the climax is a worthy highlight. What a relief...”

We happily watched the rest of the performance.

[Heretic erosion level is at 10%.]

[You have succeeded in reducing the heresy erosion level to under 10%.]

[The quest has been cleared!]

I stood up, looking at Sonia and the actors.

“Shall we go?”

The Black Witch’s eyes widened. “Already?”

“I’m satisfied. My children seem to be doing well without me. I think I’ll start crying if I see the audience applauding later. Let’s just go now.”

“You’re unexpectedly sentimental.”

“Compared to the Black Dragon Queen who cried on the eleventh floor...”

“Do you really want me to punch you?”

The Black Witch and the Paladin stood up. It was a little early, but we clapped for the actors even though no one else was able to hear us.

After the aria ended, the actors went back to dancing.

It’ll be fine.

I looked at Sonia, who was sweating profusely as she performed passionately.

Goodbye.

“I’ll leave the stage now,” the three of us said in unison.

[The Black Witch, leading the Bloodborns, has cleared the stage.]

[The Paladin, leading the Fingills, has cleared the stage.]

[The stage has been cleared!]

Just before the world around us turned white, Sonia’s gaze turned in the direction I was. Although it was impossible, I felt that our eyes locked for a second.

[The thirty-fourth floor has been cleared.]

[The quest is still in progress.]

[You are going to be immediately teleported to the thirty-fifth floor.]

[Your reward will be given after you enter the thirty-fifth floor.]

1. Many Koreans find it hard to express their affection, either physically or verbally. ☜