Chapter 195
Unlike the story written by Shakespeare, because both protagonists are men, the plot from here on can be regarded as a significant deviation from the original development - unlike the initial exile, Romeo was imprisoned, so Julius went to seek help from the priest.
With the help of drugs, two outstanding young people with the same dream closed their eyes on the same night.
Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka said goodbye to Shakespeare.
"It looks like the first show of the first year is almost over." Fujimaru Ritsuka finished his review of Romeo and Julias on the writing board and stood up to go to the last group's performance. "I still have a review for the last group to write - it's a pity that I can't see their end. Well, I wish you a happy show, Mr. Shakespeare."
In the audience seats of the Winter Group's stage, Fujimaru Ritsuka saw the two Paradise Fairies sitting together, silently watching the story on the stage unfold step by step - she arrived at the right time, and although the story was nearing its end, it was indeed not over yet. Now was the part where she was impressed by the actions of the guests she had focused on during the previous variety show recording.
"Are you here to greet me, Raphael?"
The moment he heard this, Fujimaru Ritsuka turned his head and looked carefully at the two Paradise Fairies sitting together, and regretfully discovered that the Queen of the Fairy Kingdom was not present - the two Paradise Fairies sitting in the audience were the original Avalon Le Fay, and Lancermello, who had become the "foundation" from the very beginning.
The curtain on the stage fell, blocking the judges' view of the play - in order to save time, the final credits of each play were cancelled; so when the curtain was opened again, new characters would appear on the stage.
So, Fujimaru Ritsuka took advantage of the break before the stage curtain was opened and moved to a seat near the two Paradise Fairies.
"What is the second play on this stage?" Avalon Le Fay asked Lansemero.
"Fujimaru must know." Lansemero directly threw the question to the girl who just came over. "The first day's repertoire should be on your writing board. You asked Kirsch before if he had any favorite works in those TV series and movies... Then do you have any favorite works here on the stage? I mean on the stage today."
"The next show is 'The Master is Addicted to Reasoning'. As for the play I want to watch...it's better to say that I've already seen it once, so I want to see it live." Fujimaru Ritsuka gave his answer honestly, "Didn't they show 'Midnight Dwellers' in the villa before? I watched it on the monitor screen of the live video - compared to other shows I haven't seen yet, I'm more interested in this one."
"Well, I lose this time." Avalon Le Fay laughed helplessly, stood up and walked out, "Then I will go find Custer next - I will leave this place to the two of you."
After Avalon Le Fay left, Fujimaru Ritsuka sat down in the seat that previously belonged to the Holy Sword Fairy, and finally asked Lansemello his question: "Deputy Director, what were you talking about with Miss Avalon Le Fay before? Why did she suddenly say that she lost?"
"We're betting on which play you're more interested in today." Under the gradually dimming lights in the theater, Lansemello told Fujimaru Ritsuka the answer, "I chose Midnight Dwellers, and she chose Romeo and Julias - although there are several plays that may meet the conditions for our selection, but I still chose this one."
"Why?" In the theater that was completely plunged into darkness, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked Lancermello.
"Do you remember what happened after the explosion?"
Lansemello's answer was masked by the sound of a broadcast before the curtain opened - at the same time, the curtain on the stage opened, and a new story unfolded against the backdrop of the Taisho era.
"...Then can I ask the deputy director which three performances you pay the most attention to among the three days of performances?" After completing the evaluation of this performance, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked Lancer Melo.
"I have already watched the most interesting play on the first day; the play on the second day is "Frankenstein F and the Lamentable Opera"; as for the play on the third day..." Lansermero paused, smiled and shifted his gaze from the stage to Fujimaru Ritsuka, "I think you should also be very interested in that play--"
"Faust by Shining Agency."
The work of the Kaleidoscope Award continued to advance in an orderly manner with the cooperation of everyone. Under such circumstances, the third day, which was also the last day of the competition schedule, soon arrived.
The winning results for the previous two days have been tallied up.
Having firmly controlled the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards in the past two days, Mankai Theatre Winter Team has firmly stood at the top of the ranking pyramid - although there are only two awards, the other awards are scattered and every agency has a hand in them; the only awards that can compare with these two in terms of purity are probably Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.
The Best Original Score award has never slipped away from Animusphia Agency, and the Best Screenplay award has never slipped away from the Man Kaichun Group.
"We unexpectedly ranked quite high." Before the show began, walking in the hallway of the venue, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the members of Chaldea summarized the awards from the previous two days. "Strictly speaking, the awards on the first day were what surprised us - after all, we never thought in this direction from the beginning..."
"Now that I think about it, it's actually normal." Lansemello pointed to the actual nomination list from the previous two days, "All the dramas with leading actresses and supporting actresses are put up - and if you look at the leading actor and supporting actor list... not counting Shining Agency, they took up twelve dramas on the first day alone."
"Oh, yes, speaking of Mankai." Fujimaru Ritsuka paused and added some information from the producer's meeting. "They actually apply for the award for the co-lead or lead actress who plays a female role. So I thought at first that even if the selection range is very small, we have no chance of winning the award."
"...Forget it, after all, it's a record of the special points in the finale." Roman, who enjoyed the treatment of being nominated individually on the first day, decisively stopped talking about this topic and glanced at the LCD electronic clock on the wall. "The performance will start in ten minutes. Let's sort out the current awards - first is the Winter Group, with a total of seven awards; second is us, with a total of five awards; third is the Summer Group, with a total of four awards; followed by the Spring Group, a total of three..."
"The rest are basically just one or two awards here and there."
"Today's final list of winners will affect the final promotion results." In the dark audience seats, Fujimaru Ritsuka muttered to himself while looking at the writing board in his hand, "All the parts that Chaldea can apply for are within the range of the previous two days, so our ranking will only fall behind - but can the Winter Team, which has been leading for the previous two days, continue to maintain its previous advantage today?"
"After all, the most anticipated performances are all performed today."
——Hun’s whole body was shaking. He had never been like this even when the situation was more dangerous than this performance.
——Are you scared or excited? I don’t know what’s going on right now, but…
“Mr. Tsumugi!” The red-haired co-star smiled and gave Tsukioka Tsumabuchi a thumbs-up on the steps, and the other cast members behind her also did the same thing. “If it’s Mr. Tsumugi’s Lucifer! There will definitely be no problem!”
"Taiyi-kun..."
"Even if we are from the same troupe, according to the current competition rules, we are opponents of the Winter Team - you stupid dog."
"Oh, don't talk to me like Xiao Xing!"
"Come on, I think you should remember to show the first generation something that only we can do, right?" Gao Yuancheng put his hands on his waist, leaned against the wall connecting to the backstage passage, and looked at You Xunran standing on the steps to the stage, "Show them some color, tell them - now is the era of freshmen running the troupe. As for other problems, that's a bit too far away."
"We just need to focus on the present, the here and now."
"Thank you, then--I'm going to go on stage."
The leading actor stood in the center of the stage, and the curtain opened. A cold light fell from his head, making everything except Lucifer even darker.
"Do you hate your fate? Do you hate the culprit who framed you?"
The devil on the stage questions the teenager who was killed by thugs in an accident.
——Have you ever envied others? Have you ever had the experience of being helpless and bowing your head because you don’t have the talent, opportunity, luck, or wealth? Have you ever had the experience of gritting your teeth and shedding tears and lamenting that equality is so precious because the world is full of inequality?
——Regardless of time, place, or gender, young or old, you humans prefer revenge dramas and love revenge dramas.
At the same time, the Lord of Chaldea recalled the seven battles she had experienced in a prison tower in the past. Before each battle, the green-clad vengeful ghost always walked in front of her, speaking to herself about each battle in an excited, dramatic tone.
"I will give you power. I will give you the power to overturn your fate and the blade to achieve revenge."
——That person…if you ask me, he must have been burned by the flames of revenge before he died.
—You mean the story I showed you?
——Strictly speaking, it is just an adaptation by the novelist.
——Once someone chooses to embark on this path, there is no turning back.
——There is no chance to stop taking revenge.
——Ah, but, even though they keep talking about revenge and that the story is just a fiction by the novelist...
——But please don’t forget that there are similarities between the protagonist in that story and yourself.
——For example, although he calls himself a vengeful person, he is actually a good person who repays favors.
——In this respect, you can trust him with confidence.
This is a conversation that took place in the library inside Chaldea when the people were burned.
Ritsuka Fujimaru twirled the pen in his hand and made a simple comment on the play on the writing board - then he quietly stood up and moved to another theater to continue today's judging work.