Episode 48 – Fun and Games (3)

Fun and Games (3)

Tuesday morning, at Endex.

On the way to the Latinel classroom.

“Elly~ Where did you get assigned, Elly?”

Layla asked Elise, who was beaming.

“I put my first choice as the mercenary group and got in right away~ What about you~ What about you~”

They were talking about the workplace experience on Wednesday.

Elise, while checking the assignment due today—a two-person play script, asked back.

“Wasn’t your first choice the knight group, Layla?”

“Ha~ I struggled a lot. I like knights too, but somehow I felt the mercenaries would be more wild, so I changed at the last minute. These days, I like bad boys. What about you, Elly?”

“Hoo…….”

Elise deliberately sighed.

“……You look.”

Then she showed the text message on her smartphone. Layla’s eyes widened.

“Gosh. Recordark? You’re going to the prison!”

Recordark.

Elise got assigned to the place everyone avoids.

“What will you do, Elly!”

“What can I do…….”

She swallowed the words she was about to say. It was because of the yellow guy appearing in front of her.

Shion Ascal. Just looking at his face made her feel bad, he glanced at her and then entered the classroom.

“……Wait a minute. Elly, doesn’t Shion seem bigger? He used to be smaller than me.”

Layla said, putting her hand on her forehead. Elise didn’t care. Whether that crazy guy grows to 5m or shrinks to 30cm.

Elise entered the classroom and sat down with Layla.

“Right. Elly, can you look at this? It’s for the assignment.”

Layla showed her two-person play assignment. Elise quickly skimmed it.

“……It’s not bad.”

Just Layla’s level. Did she also ask [At Your Service] for this?

“Right? Look at this too~?”

Layla showed another page. Underneath the Latinel dialogue, she had written the pronunciation in Edsilla common language. It was a crude script.

“[At Your Service] did everything. I completely memorized the pronunciation with this. Hehehe…….”

Layla whispered as if she had committed a huge crime. Elise smirked.

To her, the owner of [At Your Service] was more pathetic than Layla.

Just how poor must he be to sell Latinel like this.

……Wait.

A poor Latinel expert?

Without realizing it, Elise looked somewhere. Doubt filled her eyes. From his hair, he looked like a scoundrel, Shion the scoundrel-

“Nice to see you~”

Professor Beatrice came in. Elise straightened up.

The woman standing in front of the podium spoke in a friendly tone.

“First, let’s sit in the teams from last week.”

Again, she’s paired with that damn Shion.

Elise was really annoyed, but she tried to hold it in.

“Shall we present the two-person plays you wrote? Anyone who wants to go first-”

“Me!”

Layla was the first to raise her hand.

“Before I forget!”

“Yes. Come on up~”

Professor Beatrice smiled warmly at her.

______________________________________________________________________

The assignment, the two-person play presentation, was over.

Among them, Layla was quite impressive.

—Vermor~ It was indeed the person I thought of~

Thanks to writing the Latinel pronunciation in common language, her short tongue pronunciation had improved quite a bit, but her unique emotional excess was still there.

—Ahhhh~ I want to cry~ Whenever I see you, tears~ come out~

Anyway.

In this two-person play assignment, Elise and I received high evaluations again.

Professor Beatrice had an almost moved face at the emphasis expression of advanced verbs, and asked who wrote the script.

As Elise fiddled with the script and only mumbled her lips, I spoke instead.

Elise wrote the script, but I took care of the detailed modifications of those words.

Professor Beatrice praised both of us.

We were first again this time.

“……Then. Let’s start the class in earnest.”

Coincidentally, today’s Latinel chapter was also ‘inflection’. Professor Beatrice lectured while writing neatly on the board.

“Like the word ‘Duare’ that came out in the two-person play of Shion and Elise, Latinel has various inflections. There are up to 13 variations of the same meaning word…….”

So time passed, and it was 12:50 in the afternoon.

Around the time my hunger was gradually strangling me.

“Although there are about 10 minutes left, let’s end today’s class here.”

Professor Beatrice ended the class 10 minutes early.

“Today’s assignment is to memorize the words on page 53 of the textbook.”

The homework is to memorize words. Other seniors seem uncomfortable, but it’s rather good for me.

Whether it was then or now, I always got full marks in memorization subjects. Of course, because I cheated with 「Notepad」.

“And…… You all know that there is a festival at the magic school in two weeks, right?”

Festival.

There is also a festival at the magic school. It’s not just in Endex, but a fairly large festival that the six magic schools in the capital participate in together. Celebrities, famous knights, and singers often come.

Being a senior doesn’t mean you’re excluded. Rather, the college board gives a week’s break to coincide with that time.

“We, the Latinel classroom of Endex, are planning to do a play. The theme is ‘Popularization of Latinel’. We are going to translate and adapt one of the 23 Latinel plays into common language and perform it.”

It seems like it’s going to be annoying again.

I was slowly preparing to escape.

“The play to be performed at the festival is of course not related to grades. However.”

But Professor Beatrice took something out of her bosom. It was an envelope with a gold border. The name of some social club was elegantly embossed on the front.

[Sermones Laeterni]

“……!”

Elise, sitting next to me, was shocked. Her body trembled so much that the vibrations traveled through the desk. Her eyes, which had been as dead as a rotten fish throughout the class, once again sparkled like gemstones.

Sermones Laeterni.

I had heard of it too. A very picky and exclusive Latinel social circle. Not only the children of prestigious families, but even Senators and tycoons aspire to join.

“If a play of satisfactory quality is produced, I will offer this invitation as a reward.”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled, but only for a moment. Most seemed to give up. Perhaps because of me, or maybe Elise.

“The ones in charge of the festival play will be the two who performed the best in today’s two-person play.”

Professor Beatrice pointed at us.

“I think it would be good if Shion and Elise took charge. What do you all think?”

Professor Beatrice pointed at our desk.

“You don’t necessarily have to act. You’re in charge of the play itself. Of course, the actors will be the most noticeable.”

If I don’t have to take the lead, it might be surprisingly okay.

Sermones Laeterni will undoubtedly help with my future plans.

“What about you?”

I asked Elise.

“……”

There was no response, but she was probably contemplating. Torn between her dislike for me and her desire for the invitation.

While she was thinking, I raised my hand first.

“I’ll do it.”

“Great! And Elise?”

“……Yes.”

Whether she had made up her mind or not, Elise also sighed and answered.

“I’ll do it too. It’s an honor.”

“Great. You can choose any script from these 23 Latinel plays.”

Professor Beatrice placed three thick books on our table.

“You can reinterpret it, or you can classically Manifest the original. If you need personnel or a stage, arrangement for it, Endex will provide ample support for the costs.”

The books were Latinel Play I (1-7), Latinel Play II (8-15), and Latinel Play III (16-23).

“Then let’s end it here for today. Everyone, you’ve worked hard~”

Beatrice left with a light and cheerful step.

I looked at the table of contents of Latinel Play I.

Most of the titles were unfamiliar, but for some reason, the third play ‘The Bard’ caught my eye.

“Uh…? Wait.”

This.

The Bard.

I know this play.

Not that it’s not, but by some coincidence or something, a musical reinterpreting The Bard hit it big about five years later.

I have a memory of going to see it myself. With Theia Esil, and Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“That time……”

While I was blankly recalling old memories, suddenly Elise grabbed all three scripts.

“Huh?”

“I’ll adapt the play, you just correct the lines.”

“……”

I was about to nod without thinking, but I paused.

“No.”

“Then leave.”

“I said no.”

“What?”

Elise, with a scowl on her face, asked as if she was annoyed.

Let’s rewind what I just said.

It’s not that it’s untrue, but whether by coincidence or something else, a musical that reinterpreted this poet became an enormous hit 5 years later.

“I’ll do it.”

I’ll write that musical, just like that time.

Future copyright? I don’t care. After all, that author was also a performing artist obsessed with Libra’s sponsorship.

Elise waved her hand dismissively.

“Just because you’re greedy doesn’t mean it’ll work. You’re an ignoramus with no literary sensibility-”

“Let’s try it together and then decide. We still have two weeks anyway.”

“……Have you even read this?”

Elise asked, shaking the three volumes of Latinel plays.

More importantly, her forearm muscles are impressive. Isn’t it heavy? It looks like it weighs about 10kg each, and she’s holding them in one arm.

“Yeah. I’ve read it. We’re doing ‘The Bard’.”

“What?”

Elise’s face contorted again. Is her concept for today a newspaper? Why does she keep crumpling?

“Is there a problem?”

“Of course. The Bard is the least recognized among the 23 Latinel plays-”

“Elly~ I’m jealous~”

Layla rushed in.

“Write me in as a supporting role~”

At that moment, our conversation stopped. We exchanged glances in front of a common enemy.

If we write Layla as a supporting role, the play will fail.

“Sorry. I have something to do.”

Elise almost ran out, and Layla blinked her eyes and looked at me.

“Shion~ If you write me in as a supporting-”

“Oh, hello?”

I also pretended to answer a phone call and went outside. A text message had just arrived.

[The Bark Auction has ended.]

It’s a message from the dark web notifying the end of the auction.

[EasyCash’s top-grade mandrake was finally auctioned off for 63,500DP.]

[After deducting a 40% commission and a 3,000DP appraisal fee from the sale price of 63,500 DP, 35,100DP has been deposited.]

When converting DP to cash, about 30% will be deducted for money laundering costs and such, so it’s practically the same as 20,000 Ren.

The commission is a rip-off, but there’s no other suitable platform besides the dark web.

Ding-

My smartphone rang again. A message appeared on the screen.

[College Board: Announcing the work experience location for Senior Shion Ascal.]

[Desired location: Prison. Recordark Ⅰ]

[Please come to Recordark by 10:00 AM on Wednesday. Transportation is up to you.]

Tomorrow, the work experience location for the special activity.

It’s Recordark.

“Oh……”

I unconsciously licked my lips.

I’m somewhat looking forward to it, feeling good, and also worried.

He will be there now, but isn’t it too early to meet?

Isn’t it a problem to meet too early?

With various thoughts, I smiled and put my smartphone in my pocket.