Chapter 7

—At last, the day’s finally here!

It is. I know I've said it before, but..… thank you for helping with my project.

I know balancing rehearsals with your own workshop must’ve been pretty rough.

Well, I knew it’d be pretty intense from the start anyway…....

Indeed! And I was hoping to use what we gained from the workshop in a real performance!

I’m so excited for everyone to see it~!

Yeah. This show is where we show everything we’ve learned from the workshops.

The audience will be other workshop participants and instructors. And afterward, there’ll be some strict feedback—

…But for now, let’s put all that aside. What we have to do hasn’t changed.

We just give the audience in front of us our very best show.

Yeah!

Besides, I’m curious what kind of feedback we’ll get for our show!

It’s pretty different in tone from what we’ve done before, too.

At first I was like, “Can I really pull this off?”~ but now it’s so much fun to perform!

Fufu. That’s the best thing a director could hear right now.

It’s so you, Rui, yet at the same time it really made me think, “So this is what he chose to go with.”

You struggled a lot with it..… and this is the answer you reached, huh.

—Yeah. I’ve put in everything I can do right now.

Alright. This is our director’s— and Wonderlands x Showtime’s next big step!

We’ll make this the greatest show we’ve ever done— all of us, together.

Yeah!

<Next is—oh, Kamishiro-kun.>

<By the way, Tom—weren’t you giving him advice the other day?>

<Yes, I gave him a bit of guidance. He’s a youth brimming with potential after all.>

<Oh? That’s not just flattery, is it?>

<Of course. I think you’ll see it for yourself soon enough.>

…..Fine, I suppose I’ll keep my expectations up, just a bit.

Eek..…! S-Somebody help me..…!!

Hahaha! What’s this? You whining already?

You can run faster than that, can’t you? Don’t bore me now!

Th-There’s a monster on the carriage…! N-No—aaah..…!?

…..And down the slope he goes. Looks like I win this game of tag.

Sigh...… How boring. And here I thought I’d finally found a playmate to pass the time.

Oh, I know! I’ll disguise myself as a human and head into town.

Maybe I’ll find something interesting there.

—Alright, here’s your ale. Haven’t seen you around before. You passing through?

Yeah, something like that!

Then watch yourself. There’s a nasty monster lurking in the woods nearby.

Oh…? So what makes this monster so terrifying?

They say it’s vicious and acts on its own whims. It’s clever, way stronger and faster than people. Real nasty piece of work.

Why, just today, it chased a carriage for its own amusement, gave ’em a hell of a scare.

Oh-ho. Must’ve been starved for a playmate, huh?

Getting chased around for that? No thanks! You’d best be careful too, friend.

......Figures. Humans really are no fun to talk to.

What could possibly matter more in this world than having fun?

Sigh, this tavern’s boring too—hm?

♪——♪———~~

…What’s this....…?

Oh? Is this your first time hearing a bard’s song?

A bard.....?

That’s right! We wander from place to place, turning local legends and tales into songs and poems as we go.

Hah.....! That's pretty interesting.

While I was listening to that song, I actually forgot how bored I was.

If I could learn to sing like a bard—

Hey, teach me how to sing too!

Huh? Wait, does that mean..… you wanna be my apprentice!?

An apprentice..…! I’ve always dreamed of this...…

Wait, that’s not very master-like. Ahem!

Are you sure you wanna be my apprentice?

Apprentice…? Well, as long as I learn to sing, I don’t care what you call it.

Make me your apprentice!

Hmmm… When you ask with those eyes, how can I possibly say no…...

Alright, fine. From now on, you call me Master!

Yeah, got it!

♪——♪———~~

Wow. You’ve got more talent than I thought.

Still...… can you fix those bizarre lyrics? It’s like a bad dream a drunkard would have.

Alright, then what kind of verse do you want?

One that really reaches people’s hearts! For example—

Hey, kid, you’re a bard’s apprentice, right? Sing us a song, will ya?

No way. I’m not doing this for you lot to listen—

Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to talk like that?

Besides, bards exist to share songs and stories with people. Keep that up, and I won’t teach you anymore!

Ugh..… that’d be a problem. Fine, just one song.

♪——♪———~~

Wow..… this guy is something else...…

You’re really good! I could listen to you all day!

…..Huh. Humans have some taste after all.

Thanks, kid! I feel ready to work hard again tomorrow!

Yeah! If I feel like it, I’ll sing for you again.

Really? Then next time I’ll bring my wife to listen too!

......Hehe.

(And so, the monster slowly begins to blend into the human world.)

(At first, it was all just to chase the "fun" he wanted—)

You’ve got a way of drawing smiles around you.

Sometimes you do wild, unexpected things...… but that’s part of your charm.

I’ve got myself a good apprentice.

(The monster’s true nature never changes; Pure, always chasing what’s fun.)

(However—)

(In the depths of his heart, something is taking root.)

(In order to show that feeling he’s not even aware of..…)

…...I see.

…...That was well played just now.

Yeah. It’s a subtle performance, but the pauses and the focused lighting make it really stand out.

(When you’re on a big stage, you’ve got to act big or it won’t reach the crowd—)

(Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun talked it over again and again, practicing the best timing and all that.)

(…...So far, so good. But the real challenge starts now.)

(One day, a lone hunter arrives in the town where the monster resides— that's when everything changes.)

—Everyone, please listen. A fearsome monster has blended in among us here.

H-Here? In this town—?

The monster disguises itself as human, pretending to be one of you. But its real nature can never coexist with ours.

Pleasure-seeking, childlike, and yet so cruel. That’s what makes it a monster.

So before it hurts anyone...… we must find it and hunt it down.

…...What a terrifying thought.

Yeah. And the fact it can disguise itself as human is just creepy…...

…...Things are feeling pretty grim now.

......Yeah.