Chapter 43 The Performance is in Progress

Kuroko Tetsuya asked for leave because he went to Kuroro's world.

The Phantom Troupe's new play has finished rehearsals and will have its first performance at the Central Theater in Saba City.

"Okay, costumes, props, sound, lighting... there's no problem." Parker checked them one by one.

Ugin and Yuji Itadori practiced grinning in front of the mirror so that they could play the role of a vicious villain.

Wo Jin patted Yuji Itadori's shoulder and said, "Your smile is not vicious enough. Look at me, I am the real villain."

"Maybe I can add some tattoos on my face?" Yuji Itadori looked left and right in the mirror.

"These external things are all heresy." Wo Jin expressed disdain, "Let's be down-to-earth."

"Okay, I just think it's more handsome this way." Yuji Itadori said regretfully.

Shuji Tsushima sat on a chair with wheels and slid over with a slight push of his feet.

He smiled broadly, "Youjin, you can go see Tetsuya, he's more attractive."

After changing into his clothes, Sawada Tsunayoshi pulled his chair over and said, "Be careful, Tetsuya will put his fist in your mouth later."

"Zhe would never do that." Tsushima Shuji waved his hands, but still sat obediently on the chair.

Kuroro adjusted his belt and said with a smile, "Are you all ready? This is the first time that the Phantom Troupe will perform in such a large theater."

The knight put his arm around Kuroro's shoulders with a playful smile, "Don't worry, Captain. Everything is ready."

Feitan leaned back in his chair and nodded.

Machi: "Five minutes until the show starts."

"There are so many people sitting outside." Sarasa patted her face.

Sheila gave Sarasa the little golden crown on her head and encouraged her: "I believe Sarasa can do well and be the first to appear on stage and surprise everyone."

Machi also gently touched her hair, "I've practiced it many times, so I won't make any mistakes."

Kuroro held out his hand: "Come on, everyone."

Others rushed forward, "Come on!"

They were a matinee, with the first act beginning at 2:30 p.m.

[At the beginning of the plot, Sarasa, wearing a princess dress, carefully emerged from under the red curtain. The little golden crown was about to fall to the ground. The princess played by Sarasa grabbed it and then breathed a sigh of relief in an exaggerated manner.

The design, which looked like a performance accident, immediately attracted the audience's attention.

Under the palace crystal chandelier, on the small round table in the center was a crown more gorgeous than the one on the princess's head.

The lighting was still relatively dim at that time, making the crown on the small round table appear even more dazzling.

The princess tiptoed to the table, looking left and right guiltily from time to time.

She walked around the small round table twice, turned her back to the audience, and sighed heavily.

"The kingdom is about to be destroyed, but my father is pinning his last chance of survival on a crown!" The princess turned around abruptly, and one could see deep disapproval on her face.

"He said that the star stone on the crown—" The princess' hand was about to touch the blue gem in the center of the crown when the sound of knights' footsteps was heard outside.

The princess was startled and withdrew her hand. She whispered anxiously, "Oh no, oh no, my father doesn't like me coming here."

In a hurry, she actually crawled under the small round table, and the long tablecloth that dragged on the ground concealed her figure.

The door on the right was pushed open, and the red-haired Knight Commander (Chrollo) glanced around, entered the palace room, looked carefully, and then stood in front of the small round table, "Hmm... it seems that no one is here."

The red velvet tablecloth shook, and the Knight Commander said to himself, "The king's condition has worsened. I wonder when this Crown of Stars will take effect and make everything better."

“Boom!”

The Knight Commander pretended to be shocked and looked at the princess who had crawled out from under the table. "This broken thing is totally useless! Let me go out to fight!"

The angry expression froze when she saw the Knight Commander's astonished eyes. The princess was embarrassed and said, "Good morning, Knight Commander Quirrell."

Knight Commander: "Your Highness, the King is looking for you."

The princess adjusted her hair and said, "I know. I just got out of his place."

"Perhaps the king has changed his mind." The princess glanced sideways at the knight's sudden words.

"We just..." The princess paused, "Anyway, he probably won't change his mind so quickly."

“People’s thoughts are ever-changing.”

Princess:"……"

"Okay, I'll go."

The princess turned to leave, but paused at the door, hesitated and turned around.

The knight laughed and said, "I will not tell the king that you were here."

The princess walked on without stopping. 】

The lights change at this moment.

The princess went to find the king, but the king still did not change his mind, and they quarreled again.

[“No, even if you disagree, I will go to the battlefield. As the future queen, I will be with my people.” The princess turned to leave, but was stopped by the king’s (Finks) sudden and violent cough.

The princess turned around and met the king's silent and sharp gaze. He calmly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "Are you sure you want to go?"

"I'm sure!"

The king was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Cecilina, take on the crown of stars. It will give you strength."

"That crown is of no use at all," the princess said angrily.

"No, my father, he told me that he was saved by that power in a critical moment." The king insisted.

The princess didn't want to repeat the conversation she had said countless times over and over again, so she compromised, "Okay, I'll wear the crown."

The princess knew the legend of the Star Crown. It was said that four hundred years ago, a country was in danger of extinction and was about to be invaded by another more powerful country. In order to make her country win, the princess of that country jumped into the furnace and became a blue gem, which is now the Star Gem. The gem was inlaid in a crown and became the Star Crown. It was said that the owner of the Star Crown could obtain the protection of the princess, just like the country four hundred years ago, and find the way to victory in adversity.

It is unknown whether this legend is true or not, and whether the princess jumped into the furnace voluntarily. Anyway, Princess Cecilia does not believe in this absurd legend.

She only believes in herself. 】

After getting the king's permission, the princess prepared to pack her bags and go to the front line. The knight asked to go with her to protect the princess. The king agreed.

The princess's maid (played by Sheila) is worried about her safety and also joins the journey. During the journey, the princess also meets a swordsman (played by Pike) who also wants to go to the battlefield.

The swordsman looked at the noble princess, the future master of this land, and said, "I will defeat the enemy, not for the sake of loyalty to the royal family, but for my homeland and for every beautiful person around me."

"Whether you recognize me or not," the princess said seriously, "it is the royal family's fault that the people were plunged into the chaos of war. I am very sorry."

At the princess's invitation, the swordsman went to the battlefield with the army.

Under the protection of the army, the princess, who should have arrived at the battlefield safely, was ambushed by the enemy country, and the treasure chest containing the Crown of the Stars was lost in the chaos.

The soldiers fell into panic, which was gradually calmed down after the princess tried her best to comfort them.

The princess now understood a little bit about the function of the Star Crown. Regardless of whether it had magical powers, at least for now, it could provide spiritual support.

While continuing the march and investigating the whereabouts of the Crown of Stars, the princess discovered traces of three groups of people.

[“I didn’t expect you to believe in that legend. If that’s the case, why don’t you join our country and be blessed together with us?”

On the battlefield where the two armies were fighting, the princess was wearing armor and facing the prince of the enemy country (played by Sawada Tsunayoshi).

The first group of people who snatched the Star Crown were sent by the enemy country.

The enemy prince smiled unchanged: "Instead of speaking harshly here, it is better to see the true strength of the army. I hope your Star Crown is really protecting you."

The first battle between the princess and the enemy prince ended in a draw. She could tell from the enemy prince's attitude that the Crown of Stars was not in their hands.

The battlefield was changing rapidly, and the princess did not have the energy to look for the Star Crown, so she asked someone to secretly make a fake Star Crown.

The princess was indeed very capable in marching and fighting. Although she did not believe that the Star Crown possessed magical powers, she was not opposed to using the name of the Star Crown to boost the morale of the army.

The princess's army was almost invincible, and the swordsman played a huge role in it.

But a general of the enemy country (played by March) broke the situation and the two armies fell into a stalemate.

At this time, bad news came from the capital that the king had passed away. The Knight Commander betrayed the princess at this critical moment and joined the noble camp of the capital (Feitan, Xia Ke, Tsushima Shuji).

The blows came one after another.

The princess cheered up after a brief grief, and the head maid was ordered to take the princess's subordinates back to the capital to contain the restless nobles.

After going through a series of difficulties, the princess defeated the enemy's army and returned to the capital to deal with the nobles.

The Duke (played by Xiake) revealed that the Star Crown in the princess's hand was fake, and used this to hold the princess accountable. During this time, the princess had actually identified two groups of people other than the enemy country. One was the Knight Commander's people, and the other was the bandits roaming around the border (played by Uogane, Nobunaga, Franklin, and Yuji Itadori).

The Crown of Stars was first stolen by people from the enemy country, and then secretly stolen by people sent by the Knight Commander. It was then stolen by thieves on the way.

The thieves lived in the border areas. Due to the frequent wars between the two countries, they lost their homes and became refugees. They lost their sense of belonging, and no matter which country was destroyed, it would not affect them. Naturally, they would not care about the impact of the loss of the Star Crown.

The thieves had no intention of surrendering at first, so the princess fought fiercely with them and finally captured the whole group.

[“Why did you go to so much trouble to steal the Star Crown? If you want to exchange it for benefits, it would be more appropriate to give it to my enemy.” The princess was puzzled by their behavior of offering the Star Crown.

"No, we just want to know if this crown can really bring us happiness."

The princess was silent.

The princess promised them that she would give them a safe home. 】

The princess then took back the Crown of Stars and gave it to the traitorous Knight Commander.

The Crown of Stars was originally a treasure of Knight Commander Loki's family. Because a noble wanted to present the treasure to the king, Loki's family suffered a devastating disaster. Knight Commander Loki's father kept telling him to take revenge. The Knight Commander originally considered whether to kill the princess, but finally gave up the idea for the sake of the country and the people.

Later, he seemed to have defected to the aristocratic camp, but in fact he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of his enemies.

The princess and the knight commander teamed up again.

So when the nobles planned to destroy the princess, the princess had anticipated it and was well prepared to catch all the nobles who wanted to rebel.

After successfully taking revenge, the Knight Commander gained true freedom. Without saying goodbye to the princess, he left the Crown of Stars and left the place that had trapped him for more than ten years alone.

The princess stood on the city wall and looked into the distance.

[At the end, the princess won the victory with her own ability and ascended the throne. She put the Star Crown back to its original place, looked at the star gem that was still shining, and murmured: "Father, the Star Crown has no magic power. It is only people who can truly support the scales of fate to tilt towards victory."

The princess walked out of the palace. The huge stage was empty and the lights dimmed. However, the sound of light footsteps could be heard in the silent palace.

A faint light shone on the crown, and the scattered light fell on the girl who suddenly appeared. Her long wavy hair hung to the ground. She lowered her eyes, quietly and silently. No one saw the trajectory of her movements. It was almost as if she suddenly appeared like a ghost.

The faint light seemed to pass through her body, making her thin frame transparent.

She stretched out her hands and placed them on both sides of the crown, holding it loosely. The moment she raised her eyes, her blue eyes seemed to shine brighter than the gems on the crown.

The mysterious voice said, "Yes, I don't have that kind of power. Victory comes from generals who fight bloody battles, from kings who are supported by the people, and from unbreakable beliefs... It has always been like this."

She smiled gently and her figure suddenly disappeared.

The palace room where the treasure is hidden has regained peace and will remain peaceful in the future.

The Crown of Stars has no magic power. It only has the lonely souls of the old century that are locked by people's obsession. It cannot bring victory. At most, it can echo people's prayers over and over again in the crown.

But today, a master finally stopped believing in the illusory legend, and the soul imprisoned by obsession was redeemed. 】

The performance of "Crown of Stars" ended successfully.

take a bow.

There was thunderous applause from the audience.