It didn’t show much fury, and although leaks in old houses was frequent, there was no major damage such as flooding of rivers, overflow, or building collapse. It seemed that even the residents of Shelland felt relieved, walking through the sunlit streets. The faint sound of carpenters’ hammers and laughter, summoned to repair the leaks, reached the shop as well.
“Hey, you! Can you try making my stage costume? I will pay you handsomely!”
Among this atmosphere, Brandon came to Jill’s shop once again.
He strode straight to the counter, and the first thing out of his mouth was that.
“Eh, eh……?”
Jill was flustered by his storm-like forcefulness, and Garda, who happened to come by to check on the shop, looked at Brandon in astonishment.
“Oh, does it trouble you if I said it so suddenly? I’m sorry.”
“Y-Yes, I suppose so.”
Jill relaxed for a moment, thinking he had calmed down.
“Therefore, I will explain from scratch! I’m preparing for a performance six months from now. The play is “Angel’s Ladder Dropout.” Do you know it? It’s a script rewritten for the stage, based on a legend of a settlement in the south. It’s a story about a master of disguise who’s a swindler, somehow having a prophetic dream of a disaster and becoming a true savior…….”
But Brandon did not calm down at all.
He unleashed a flood of information like a raging torrent.
“W-Wait! Please wait!”
“Ah, are you busy?”
“No, that’s not it…… Stage costumes, you say?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jill worried about what to say and how.
“Ah, Jill. Do you take on custom-made work like that?”
Garda, who happened to be there, interrupted.
“Huh? Who are you?”
“I’m a supplier who did business with the owner of this shop. A leather craftsman.”
“A leather craftsman, that’s nice! Then you join in too.”
Brandon said curtly, and tried to start explaining again.
Even Garda was pressed by Brandon’s assertiveness.
At that moment, Maureen let out a sigh and intervened in the conversation.
“It troubles us to be asked about such a complicated job almost upon first meeting. If you don’t follow the proper order of things, even our master would be troubled…… Master?”
“Stage costumes.”
Maureen spoke to Jill worriedly.
But it did not seem as if Jill heard her voice.
“If it’s stage costumes, does that mean it’s all right for them to be somewhat outlandish?”
“Of course it is!”
Brandon spread his arms wide, greatly affirming Jill’s question.
“The protagonist is a swindler who disguised himself as a noble brat, dressed as a woman, even as a ghost, and performed various transformations…… In other words, he changed his appearance seven times on stage. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
To everyone present except Jill and Brandon, a look mixed with both a sense of crisis and astonishment crossed their faces.
As if to say that the shopkeeper here wouldn’t fail to jump at such an interesting story.
◆
“I was always the one sending out invitations, so receiving one felt quite fresh.”
On a day when the general store was closed.
Jill, Maureen, and Carol were walking along the main street of Shelland.
Their destination was the theater.
“It’s not often one could receive tickets for the front row……! There’s a fierce ticket battle, and I never managed to get a front-row seat……!”
Carol spread her arms, openly showing her delight.
Jill and Maureen shrugged their shoulders with a wry smile.
“The theater wouldn’t run away. We still have time, so let’s go slowly.”
“Ah, s-sorry. I got too excited……! But I never expected something like this……!”
Brandon, who came the other day, suddenly showered them with all sorts of proposals and then left, but when it came to actually deciding what to do, he turned out to be unexpectedly cautious. Later, a letter arrived, enclosing a ticket to the performance along with a line saying, “I would be grateful if you could watch the performance and then consider it.”
“Master, have you ever watched a play before?”
“I have, but it became a social event, so I couldn’t concentrate on watching. This might be the first time I simply watched a play purely for itself.”
“……With many worries, it certainly wouldn’t be enjoyable. Well, since today is our day off, let’s enjoy ourselves.”
“Yes, let’s.”
Jill nodded at Maureen’s words, which had a hint of a bitter smile.
As they chatted like that while walking, they soon arrived at the theater’s entrance.
At first glance, Jill thought it was quite a beautiful building.
“This is a lovely place……!”
It was an elegant structure made of red brick. The main gate’s door was solid, and carved with a goddess and decorative flowers. Perhaps it had something to do with a local myth or something similar, but it had an organic, dynamic presence. At the same time, the bluish-gray roof, as well as the windows lined up along the walls, were arranged geometrically and symmetrically, producing a sense of dignified elegance.
The gatekeepers standing on both sides of the entrance door had swords at their hips, but it was not overly intimidating. They wore bright red tunics, with leather belts around their waists and decorative cords tied at their necks. Combined with simple black trousers, they presented the air of stylish fellows. They greeted customers passing through the gate with cheerful smiles.
“Welcome, thank you for coming…… Ah, Maureen, long time no see!”
“Stop that. You’re a gatekeeper, aren’t you? Just do your job properly.”
When Maureen showed the gatekeeper their tickets, the gatekeeper immediately summoned a servant working inside.
“Please, take your time!”
“I said just act normal, normal!”
Haah, Maureen sighed.
Jill asked with a wry smile.
“Were you acquainted?”
“He used to be a knight of the Silver Scale Knights. But he was really bad at riding horses, so he changed to a job that didn’t require riding. I helped him look for a new place back then.”
In the knights, Maureen had achieved various feats and also possessed a genuinely caring personality. Many people admired her, and whenever Jill went shopping or out with her, someone would greet them. Jill found it amusing to watch Maureen get mad, saying, “I’m working right now!”
In the meantime, Jill and the others took their seats. The windows were closed off by curtains, and even though it was daytime, it was dark enough that they had to rely on lighting. The seats were spacious, and both the backrests and armrests were sturdy. When Jill glanced at the rear seats, they were simpler, and even farther back were standing-room-only areas. Carol seemed to notice the same thing, trembling slightly as she murmured.
“These are the seats for people involved with the show or VIP seats, right……? There are actors and scriptwriters here…….”
“Ah, aren’t you happy about that?”
“I’m past happy and into scared. I’ll want to run wild and ask for autographs. Please stop me if that happens.”
“Wouldn’t it have been good to get Brandon’s autograph when he came the other day?”
“Ah, indeed……!”
Jill and the others let out muffled laughs.
Just then, as the already dim lights in the venue darkened another notch, a voice echoed.
“Thank you for coming to the Henri-Clarissa Peace Memorial Theater today. The play we would be performing from now on is “The Ten Nights of Roald,” by the Kanaria Canary Troupe. Please maintain silence during the performance. As for eating and drinking…….”
After giving various small cautions, the speaker finished by saying, “Please enjoy the show at your leisure.”
Then, a few seconds later.
The curtain lowered over the stage slowly began to rise.
“It was this man! This man killed my beloved husband!”
A piercing yet somehow heartrending voice resounded through the audience.
