Book 9: Chapter 7: The Greatest Play

Eliane had miscalculated two things.

First, the basic wind spell she had cast not only knocked down the gunpowder but also brought some oxygen into it which had swelled up the fire.

Second, she didn't know that the Silent Witch, the no-chant magician, was presented there.

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When Monica noticed that Eliane was casting a wind attack spell on the stage, she instantly made a decision. She had no idea what Eliane was aiming for. In the first place, she was unaware of the explosives that were set up on the stage for the play.

But she could tell that Eliane was planning to attack someone, so Monica followed Eliane's gaze. What she was looking at as she uttered the chant was the stage below.

Could it be that Eliane is targeting Glenn? Judging from her gaze, Monica quickly set up a simple protective barrier around Glenn.

And her judgment had saved Glenn's life.

When the wind spell that Eliane cast had caused the small fire from the staging gunpowder to swell, it had swallowed Glenn within. If Monica hadn't put up a protective barrier, Glenn would have been scorched badly.

To those in the audience who didn't know what was going on, these few seconds seemed to be all staged. What they only thought was Amelia's protective barrier had shielded Ralph from the Dark Dragon's flames.

"Wow, they didn't only use gunpowders, but magic too?"

"To think they would use actual magic, this year's play is really something!"

While the audiences were leisurely impressed by their performance, Monica was struggled to keep the play proceeding. After all, the danger on the stage was still not over.

Unlike fire cast by a spell, gunpowder fire could only burn in the air for a short time. But, it's a different story when it latched into something flammable. And there were many flammable things on the stage, such as paper and wood.

Monica focused all her attention on extinguishing them.

The quickest way to put out a fire is to pour water on it, but that would reveal the spell she cast.

Therefore, Monica enclosed all the scattered flames within small barriers. It was the same strategy she used to extinguish the Conch Flame. As the fire cannot receive enough oxygen inside the barrier, it became smaller and smaller until it was extinguished.

As for Felix who was sitting next to Monica, he was looking at the stage with serious eyes. Unaware that the girl next to him was struggling to extinguish the fire on the stage.

How many fires do I have to put out remains!?

At that moment, a high-pitched scream sounded from the right side of the stage. The cliff-like set that Eliane was standing on was tilting as one of the pillars supporting the set was on the verge of collapse, charred by the fire.

Oh no!

If that set collapsed, it would be a disaster. Not only would it injure Eliane and Glenn, which were standing on top and beneath the set, it would also injure some audiences nearby.

And the moment the set collapsed, Monica, tried to set up a protective barrier for the people in the vicinity. However, she could only maintain another two barriers at the same time. And there were Glenn, Elaine, and the audience—she didn't have enough hands.

In the few seconds that Monica was agonizing over her decision, the situation became even worse. The wind had changed direction and the smoke from the staging gunpowder had temporarily covered the stage. This made it impossible to determine the exact location of Glenn and Eliane.

On the other side of the smoke, the sound of wood snapping could be heard. There was no time left.

Oh, no! I'm not gonna make it!

Just as Monica turned pale, something burst out through the smoke.

It was Glenn holding Eliane in his arm. He used flight magic to rescue Eliane before flying out of the smoke.

The audience was filled with excitement at the rarely seen flight magic.

It's my chance!

Monica quickly put up a protective barrier to keep the crumbling set from falling into the audience. Fortunately, there was no fire in sight.

I-I've made it in time…

Holding her racing heart over her uniform, Monica secretly wiped the cold sweat from her face.

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W-What has just happened?

Eliane was just confused as Glenn held her in his arm.

She was just trying to surprise Glenn by knocking over a little gunpowder, but the fire from the gunpowder swelled up and scorched part of the set. And what was scorched was the set of cliffs made from a simple wooden platform where Eliane had unfortunately been standing on. If the pillar broke, it would naturally collapse.

However, just before Eliane was thrown to the ground, what was incoming is not the shock of being knocked down into the floor, but a different kind.

With a thud sound, her head hit someone's chest and she was carried in his strong arm.

She couldn't see anything as the scene in front of her was covered with smoke. But, when she barely opened her eyes as she coughed, what appeared in her sight was a blue sky.

"……eh?"

"Phew… That's almost got me."

The voice was so close that it was almost like a whisper. But then, she was realized that she's being carried in Glenn's arm. Moreover, he was carrying her in the air at that.

What is this? What just happened?

"It's dangerous, so please hold me tight, okay?"

"W-What are you…"

"I'm just using a flight spell! Still, they've not told me anything about this kind of play. I wish the director would inform me about this beforehand!"

Apparently, Glenn believed that this whole crisis was part of the play.

There's no way all of this was staged!

The smoke had cleared from the stage, revealing the devastation. The cliff set Eliane had been standing on had crumbled into pieces and was scattered across the stage… but fortunately, the damage had not reached the audience. The paper-made Dark Dragon was also safe.

Looking at this, Elaine secretly patted her chest in relief while Glenn licked his lips.

"Well, let's finish up here."

"…What? Eh?"

"I'm going to swoop in a bit, so hold on tight!"

As he said this, Glenn's body began to dive all the way down toward the stage. Eliane was in a panic and clung to Glenn's neck. She was unwilling to cling to such a man, but she had no choice because she could not maintain a stable position unless she did so.

"‘This is the end, Black Dragon!'"

Ralph's sword pierced the dragon's forehead.

The people who had been moving the paper-made dragon shouted its dying cry before withdrawing backstage.

"‘Thus, the Hero King Ralph slew the Dark Dragon and brought freedom to the land that had been dominated by it.'"

As soon as the student acting as the narrator read it out, the audience erupted in excitement.

None of the history books mention that the Hero King Ralph used flight magic. Nevertheless, Glenn's flying magic had a great impact on the play.

The applause directed at the stage was nothing compared to the first half. Everyone was absorbed in the stage and gave out cheers.

Eliane let out a sigh. Then remembered she still had some line remained.

In the last scene, Amelia would have given Ralph a compliment and a kiss on the cheek.

The idea of giving a kiss to a man who was not Felix, even if it was an act, was unpleasant enough for her. Still, she had to do her part.

Eliane shoved her rising anger and displeasure to the bottom of her stomach and put a beautiful smile on her face.

"‘O, King Ralph who blessed by the spirits, let me give you…"

Still being held in Glenn's arm, Eliane tried to kiss him on the cheek. Of course, she was planned to stop in midway before it touch.

But when Eliane's lips almost reached his cheek, Glenn quickly tilted his head away from Eliane.

Then Glenn whispered quietly in the ear of the stunned Eliane.

"You know, you have to save that thing for someone you love."

Eliane turned her head down, her white cheeks quickly turning rosy.

To the audience, it looked as if Eliane had turned over in embarrassment. In fact, her body was trembling slightly. However, what was swirling inside Eliane was not embarrassment. It was pure anger.

…you… you… you dare to decline the kiss which I unwillingly give when you're just a substitute!?

Her seething anger seemed to crackle in the back of her head.

You brought humiliation to me. I won't forgive you. I'll never forgive you, Glenn Dudley.

In the midst of the loud cheers, Eliane was quietly igniting the dark flames of her anger.