As always, time flew by in a flash, and before long, the curtain rose on the cultural festival play.
"Wow... Was Senior Tsumetai always that pretty...?"
"R-right? Senior Tsumetai is so beautiful... I can't help but admire her..."
"Hey, shh over there! The play's still going on!"
The female underclassmen, entranced by Ren's beauty shining under the stage lights, whispered among themselves, only to be hushed by a professor seated at the back of the auditorium.
No matter what they were chatting about, Ren's soliloquy continued uninterrupted.
"To leave me all alone in this world—what kind of cruel farewell is this...!"
Her tone was somewhat flat and emotionless. Yet the sorrow embedded in her subtly trembling voice conveyed everything perfectly.
Ren clutched the hand of Saki lying on the floor—Romeo—and pressed her forehead against it.
"I'll follow you too, O Romeo. I'll walk the path of death by your side."
She raised the prop dagger high into the air and gripped it in reverse.
Now, all she had to do was pretend to stab it into her chest, and the play would end.
'About time, huh?'
"O, blessed dagger... Let my heart be your sheath—"
Flash!
As she cried out her line with heightened emotion, every light on stage suddenly focused on her.
Ziiiiing—
Anyone who's ever faced stage lights head-on knows—they're blindingly bright, practically like a flashbang. The sheer intensity made her skin feel like it was scorching.
"Ugh... Th-this heart of mine... M-melt... rust... away... with..."
Her vision vanished completely in an instant, and Ren visibly tensed up—enough for anyone in the distance to notice.
"Huh...? Senior Tsumetai doesn't look so good."
"Yeah. Her lines are getting a bit shaky."
"Ehh? She's been perfect so far—maybe she didn't practice that part enough~?"
On top of that, murmurs from the audience that felt like scoldings for her mistake flooded her ears.
A momentary slip burned at her insides, her vision spun wildly, nothing was visible, and her lips and tongue went numb.
Her heart pounded like mad, but the next line refused to come to mind.
No matter how much Ren had practiced her icy delivery in front of the mirror, anyone without real stage experience would panic in a situation like this.
If left alone, she'd freeze up from the overwhelming tension, and eventually, Saki—still lying down—would lift her head slightly to prompt the line.
The audience would catch it clear as day, bursting into laughter at the comical blunder.
Afterward, everyone would praise the show as fun anyway, but the earnest Ren would agonize for months over ruining the class play.
But that wouldn't happen.
I had no intention of just sitting back and watching.
This was exactly why I'd volunteered for Tree 1.
Whisper, whisper...
"Tsumetai, 'Melt and rust away in this heart of mine, and sleep with me.'"
Ren, ignore the audience—focus on my voice.
Flinch!
She jumped in surprise at my faint whisper, her shoulders trembling as she glanced my way.
Tree 1 was a role no one paid any attention to—like a piece of set dressing.
And my position was perfectly shadowed, right before the top light pouring down over the lead Juliet's head.
If the supposedly dead Romeo suddenly lifted his head in plain view to whisper, everyone would notice—but from where I was, no one could see a thing.
"Don't look this way! Hurry, 'Melt and rust away in this heart of mine, and sleep with me.'"
She'd never dreamed I'd memorized Juliet's lines, even though it wasn't my role.
A quick glance sideways showed even Saki, the theater club president playing Romeo, popping her eyes open in shock.
Of course, just opening her eyes wasn't enough for the audience to catch on.
Every eye in the house was fixed on our Ren right now.
Whether my whisper jogged her memory or not, Ren steadied her voice and belted out the line loud and clear.
"O, blessed dagger! Melt and rust away in this heart of mine, and sleep with me!"
That's right! That's my Ren!
Stab!
The blunt blade of the dagger pressed against Ren's lovely chest slid back into the hilt, punctuating the end of her line.
Damn, that dagger's lucky. Maybe I should come back as one next life.
Thud!
Romeo—quick on the uptake—snapped her eyes shut again.
Juliet buried her face in Romeo's chest, and the curtain fell.
"Wooooaaahhh!"
"To pull off this level of polish in such a short time!"
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the seats.
"Haa... haa..."
Ren's lips quivered into a dopey, blissful expression.
The catharsis of overcoming a near-panic crisis like that was immense.
And into that drug-like sweetness... I slipped in a little piece of myself.
Grab!
I boldly seized her still-trembling hand.
"Wh-what!?"
She whipped around, startled.
"Time for curtain call, Tsumetai."
"Ah...!"
I flashed a grin, and only then did the roaring cheers from the audience register for her.
Tears welled up in her eyes from sheer joy.
With Saki leading, the entire theater club gathered, clasped hands, and raised them high.
"One—two—"
"""Thank you!"""
We theater club members—including Ren and me—bowed deeply as the curtain dropped.
"Whooo! It's oooover~!"
The moment we got backstage, Saki yanked off her wig and started jumping around.
What a great personality.
Twitch...
But I felt her tiny hand squirming in my large grip.
I'd been holding it the whole time.
Pretending not to notice, I kept hold and beamed at her.
"You were amazing, Tsumetai! Overcoming that moment—who knew you had it in you!"
"N-no, that was..."
"Yay~!! You killed it, Ren-chan! Haha! But you owe Yuu-senpai a drink at least, right?"
Saki, nice assist!
"Sure... something like that."
Having nailed the stage and basked in cheers from hundreds, Ren was riding high on dopamine, extra generous.
'Might be safe to lay it on a bit thicker,' I thought, and Saki lobbed another perfect assist.
"Man~ And Yuu-senpai, I saw you in a whole new light! Memorizing Juliet's lines when it's not even your role? And stepping in to save Ren-chan right when she needed it!"
Perfect.
You're my eternal ally from now on, Saki.
Just say the word—big bro's got your back with anything.
"Ahem! Yeah? Was I pretty cool today? Ahaha!"
Right now, I looked anything but cool, even as a joke.
Tree-shaped puppet head, face slathered in brown paint for makeup, eyebrows replaced with leaves—a total clown.
Seeing me self-praise in that getup, Ren couldn't hold back her laugh.
"Pfft...!"
A bright smile bloomed on Ren's face, icy all day long.
"Whoa, she laughed."
"Ahem...! I didn't laugh."
"Nah, you totally did. I saw it clear as day."
I teased her slyly, and she averted her gaze.
"I need to get this makeup off anyway, so I'm heading out."
Her words were cool, but her hand slipped softly from my grasp.
This play was a huge win.
At minimum, it'd greased the wheels enough to keep things steady until I cleared up the Tori mess.
Smack! Smack!
"Yuu-senpai—no, can I call you Yuu-kun now?"
Suddenly, Saki slapped my back with her palm, grinning warmly.
"Yuu-kun?"
"C'mon~ We're comrades-in-arms now!"
Such a sociable girl.
"Sure thing, Saki-senpai."
"Ehh~ So cold! Call me casually too, Yuu-kun."
"Got it, Saki."
I said it without thinking, and she giggled, poking my arm with her finger.
"Yuu-kun's such a pro! Calling a girl's name so casually like that."
"Huh? Saki's your first name, not family?"
Come to think of it, I'd only called her Saki, never learned her surname.
"Duh. Family name's Haijumori. So, full name's Haijumori Saki."
Gotcha.
"Sorry, Haijumori. Coming from Korea, I'm not used to the honorifics thing."
"No biggie. My surname's weird anyway, so I prefer people use my first name. Theater club president's got 'Actor's Forest' for a family name? Hilarious, right?"
It was pretty funny. But better not say that straight-up.
"Nah... doesn't sound funny at all. Actually, it's cool."
"Uh... r-really...?"
Her eyes widened a bit—first time seeing that reaction.
"I watched you perform live on stage. You had real charisma. Your eyes sparkled during Romeo's lines. Maybe heaven gave you that name for a reason?"
Spouting that straight-arrow protagonist line made my skin crawl a little, but she deserved the lip service after those killer assists.
Hell, without her, the whole event of Ren even getting on stage wouldn't have happened.
We're blood brothers now!
"Ah... Y-yeah... I guess...?"
But Saki's expression turned a bit awkward.
Damn. Did I overdo it?
Yeah, even I cringed a little.
"H-haha! Thanks! Comrade! Hit me up anytime you wanna help with theater club stuff? You're big and strong—super useful!"
Thwack! Thwack!
She pounded my back harder than seemed necessary, then turned and waved as she walked off.
"Whew~ I'm beat. Anyway, after-party at the izakaya by the front gate tonight—be there by 7 if you're coming! S-see ya!"
After-party, huh.
A scene skipped over in the game for pacing—wonder what event's waiting.
Will Ren show up too?