CH 316

–Night

After dinner, we went to the theater as soon as possible. I asked my brother, Nora, and Aina to stay at home. Fortunately, Ash and the others were also distracted by Aina and the bath, so we were able to leave the house easily.

As we walked through the streets of the town, Makina, holding my hand, looked up at the sky and said anxiously.

“There’s a lot of clouds today. There’s not much moonlight ……”

“Now that you mention, It’s been a while since it’s been cloudy.”

I looked up and saw that the moon was indeed shaded by clouds, and the sky looked like it could rain anytime. Then Urka, who was walking behind me, opened his mouth in a mysterious voice.

“…… In times like these, something is bound to come out, so you’d better be careful ……”

“S-Stop it, Urka ……”

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. As usual, Makina isn’t very good with the undead. But if you stay with Lars, you won’t have any problems with ghosts.”

“Well, I got used to it with Luitzar, so I’m not so bad with undead now. I’m sure there’s no one worse than the Emperor.”

“I thought something was wrong. But then I remembered that Makina and Lars came for me that time too.”

I think about that time when I first met Sarge. As I smiled, I remembered that I had gone back to the town of Gust to pick up Urka, and soon we arrived at the theater.

“This is your first time here, isn’t it, Fath-san?”

“Umu. I’ve heard it’s a place where young girls ooh and aah and charm everyone.”

“Master, that sounds like a …… bit of a suspicious place, so please stop it ……”

“Hmm?”

Fath-san tilted her head and said, “Is that not it?” and Makina explained about the theater and the idol. By the way, there are no such places in the Royal Capital or the town of Gust, but I heard that there are places in other towns …… I’m not going, though.

“Er, we’re going through the back door, right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure Kleinert-san has told them about it. Let’s go.”

We started to move from the front of the theater to the back door. Then Urka looks back at the entrance of the theater with a sense of reluctance.

“It’s this time now, so I guess it’s over? I’d like to see Helena in action too.”

“Let’s come back to see her after we complete the request. I want to see her again too. Lars’ outfit looks great on Helena, you know.”

“I see. She has been pretty since she was ten, so I guess that makes sense.”

“Well, let’s get some work done so we can see her.”

The lady at the reception desk at the back door was still trying to get Makina to become an idol, but Fath-san gently refused. She is the successor, so she must be desperate.

We headed straight to Kleinert-san’s place instead of Helena’s backstage …… The reason is that Helena is the one who asks for advice, but Kleinert-san is the client.

With a “Related Person” tag around our necks, we eventually reached the owner’s room and knocked.

“Good evening. It’s Lars Irving. We’re here to discuss about the request.”

“Oh, you’re here! Come in!”

I heard Kleinert-san’s happy voice, so we went in and he immediately guided us to the sofa with a smile.

“Really, sorry for the inconvenience! Oh, there are some faces I’ve never seen before too. I’m Kleinert, the owner of this theater. Did you two accept the request too?”

“Yes! My name is Urka. I’m a registered adventurer specializing in ghosts and undead.”

Urka showed his guild card to Kleinert-san, and I looked at it sideways and saw that it was indeed engraved with his specialty. Next, Fath-san came forward.

“I’m called Fath the Thunderbolt. I’m more of a martial artist than an adventurer, but now I’m Makina’s mentor. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh ……! That Thunderbolt! I’ve heard that you live in the mountains, but it’s an honor to meet you. Actually, I’ve been wanting to make a play about your exploits.”

“W-What ……!? N-No, there is no such thing as a good story.”

“No, no, no, what are you talking about! You’re famous for your success in martial arts tournaments and for destroying bandit gangs. And d–“

“Stop, t-that is not related at all to what here! Lars, please continue!”

“Oh, Master’s embarrassed.”

As Makina said, Fath-san’s face is unusually impatient and red. The creature with the “d” on its shoulder opened its mouth, though the “d” was distracting.

“Huh ……? I-Is that …… a dragon, perhaps ……?”

“I called him here for a few reasons, but he heard that Helena was in trouble, so he came here. It’s nighttime, so I don’t think there’ll be any trouble.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine, but …… you even have a dragon ……”

“Sarge is my friend, so I want you to stop treating him like a pet, but …… Anyway, getting to the point, I want to hear about it.”

“Of course. Is it about the ghost?”

I nodded at Kleinert-san’s words and continued with his story. I wanted to confirm what had been bothering me most about this conversation.

“How long have you been the owner of this theater, Kleinert-san?”

“Hmm? Well, it’s been almost ten years since I bought this theater. What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, let me ask you this. Have there been any other ghostly disturbances in the past ten years?”

“What? Hmmm, well …… I’ve never heard of it, now that you mention it.”

“Okay, so has there been any suicides or deaths in this theater?”

“Not since I’ve been the owner, but this is an old building, over a hundred years old, so something like that might’ve happened.”

Kleinert-san assures me that there’s none since he became the owner. I don’t think he’s lying, considering his personality. Let’s say it’s good to hear what I wanted to confirm.

Yes, this whole ghost thing, Helena had been going to the theater for at least six years, so how did something that had never appeared before start to appear? That was what I had been wondering.

The reason I called Urka was not to detect ghosts, but to find out if they might be there.

“I kind of understand what you want to say, Lars-kun. The previous owner was my father, so I’ll ask him if he has any stories to tell. The time is …… 22 o’clock. Wait another hour or so until everyone in the theater is gone. Then you can start your rounds.”

“Yes, sir. Is that okay with everyone?”

I asked, and everyone nodded.

Kleinert-san served us tea, and after some idle chatter, we walked into the night theater.

Well, now to the night theater.

What will happen?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Nice trend.”

The fact that Basleigh-sensei isn’t in it?

“Of course!”

‘Then why don’t I come here ……?’

“Something appeaaaaaaaaaaaared!??”