As I opened the door and stepped in, countless gazes of students immediately pierced into me.
There were more students than I expected. By the numbers, it seemed that not just actors were present, but also members from the costume and direction teams.
“Is that him?”
“Hah, he looks so unlucky.”
“Heh, this is gonna be fun.”
“Just listen. A third-year, lucky enough to be picked, thinking he’s something special.”
While there were numerous third-years in major roles, most were fourth-years, so the negative evaluations continued due to my previous absence during the script reading.
Well, if I were the type to be swayed by the whispers of students, I would’ve quit the academy long ago.
I sat down in a chair marked with my name and role, not reacting much.
There were some familiar faces, and a few people tried to approach, but as I entered, Professor Veritio followed right behind me, making everyone take their seats.
“You’ve come, Daniel.”
Professor Veritio gazed at me with that infatuated look in his eyes. I wished he wouldn’t stare at me so intensely, but would he even listen if I said something?
“Hmm.”
“It feels like it’s been a while.”
To my side sat Arni Duratan, the eldest daughter of a swordsmanship family, who had also taken on a villain role, along with Mei, who played Henchman 1.
Arni didn’t glance my way, while Mei was chuckling next to me, clearly looking forward to how I’d act.
A simple script reading began.
His instruction was clear: it was good if we could act, but if it felt difficult, reading was fine, and the reading progressed accordingly.
While blood wasn’t shed, it was a tale of the two men, Geldmea and Roben, bound by deeper friendship and loyalty.
The handsome Geldmea was played by Ares.
The role of the intelligent and mannered Roben was taken by Aldhrik, a fourth-year senior.
The script reading went pretty smoothly.
What was slightly odd was that both men had their love interests, pairing up two by two as if holding flowers.
I couldn’t remember the names properly.
Basically, Ares was torn between a pretty female student among the fourth-years and Rin.
Aldhrik was conflicted over a fourth-year female student and Elise, one of Ares’s love interests.
“Ares seems like a perfect match, doesn’t he?”
Isn’t it Ares’s specialty to flirt between women?
Noticing this, I chuckled inwardly at how accurate Professor Veritio’s eye for talent was when Mei turned to me and whispered in my ear.
“Why are you laughing? Laugh with me.”
“……!”
Mei’s sudden proximity made me stiffen and widen my eyes.
In an instant, last night’s words that Mei whispered into my ear came back naturally.
“Who told you to save me so handsomely?”
My awkward response surprised Mei at first, but she quickly caught on and grinned, whispering into my ear again.
“Who told you to laugh alone like that?”
“Hey…!”
This girl!
Just as I was trying not to think about it, she just had to drop a line that reminded me of that moment. Where did she learn such habits?
If she had used this skill to snag Ares, wouldn’t she have succeeded way earlier?
I felt like if I kept this up, I’d get caught, so I told her to tone it down a bit and glanced at the script to check where we had reached.
“……”
Right across from me, Rin glared at me with a fire in her eyes.
For real.
Not joking, I questioned whether I was becoming the master of the Army with that killing intent. But glaring was glaring, and I took a deep breath to keep my composure.
‘Thank goodness.’
No, is it always this thrilling being in the academy?
It felt way tougher than living in the Forest of the Demon Realm, and a wave of fatigue washed over me.
“Hey, it’s your turn.”
As I rubbed my eyes, Arni Duratan next to me nudged my elbow, signaling me.
Startled, I immediately recited my lines.
“Yeah, I am Gary. The master of this arena.”
The two protagonists arrived at the arena, showcasing their skills. I, intrigued by the scene, found myself in a 2:1 fight.
Feeling pretty good about it, Professor Veritio smiled with satisfaction.
What followed were some truly classic lines from Gary.
“Eris, Philea, Sera, Bryta. They are all mine. Spoils of war earned by knocking you out!”
“Pierce through the rock! Split the waves! Kill the sky! Only then can you take a single thing from Gary!”
“How sweet, your women are truly sweet.”
“Even if my fists break, the fight never stops.”
With each line I read, my hands and feet curled up, and I felt a nauseous sensation creeping up, but I somehow managed to endure it.
‘Is this what the top author is writing?’
Do royalty actually come to watch such things? What could I do about it?
Ultimately, Gary met his end in the embrace of Helia (Arni Duratan), another villain.
After that, the protagonists grew and fought for love, ending the tale.
As the script reading concluded, applause erupted.
I found it a bit dull, but some female students were even shedding tears, and Aldhrik, one of the protagonists, wore a stunned smile.
“Today’s script reading was wonderful. From today until the festival in three weeks, we’ll meet every day for practice, and my assistant will inform you of the schedule.”
‘Every… day?’
The thought of having joined made me feel overwhelmed, but I had already taken the plunge. There was no turning back now, so I had to resign myself.
“Then Professor, is that all for today?”
Aldhrik, looking like he wanted to do more, awaited an answer.
Professor Veritio smiled and looked at me as if he had been waiting.
“Of course not. I’ve booked a dueling arena for today. We’ll be brainstorming battles there.”
Since there were plenty of fight scenes in the play, it looked like we prioritized that.
“Let’s all head there together. The costume and direction teams should also discuss how to proceed with me.”
And so we headed off to the dueling arena together.
Mei approached playfully, sliding next to me, followed by Rin on the opposite side, forming a sandwich effect.
“Don’t you guys think you’re too close?”
I mentioned it because others were watching, but Mei snickered and replied.
“Shouldn’t we commend someone who’s pushing past their embarrassment to put in effort? Want candy?”
Mei dodged the subject skillfully.
Rin, overhearing this, looked at us both with a shocking expression.
“What, what does that mean?”
“Ah…”
I tried to explain, but Mei interrupted.
“I confessed and got rejected, so I’m trying to win him over. Thought I’d give it a shot.”
“You crazy…!”
Taken aback by her blatant words, I realized again that Mei was like the ringleader of a delinquent gang.
No backing out now.
Then Rin flustered and seemed about to say something, so I quickly covered her mouth.
“Ugh! Mmmmmm!”
She looked like she was going to say something huge, and stopping her turned out to be the best choice I made today.
I had no idea what she was about to say, but…
Anyway, after shaking off both of them and entering the dueling arena, Professor Veritio called out to me, Ares, and Aldhrik with a smile.
“Alright, remember the first scene? The one where Geldmea and Roben fight Gary in a 2:1 match.”
“Yes! I remember!”
Aldhrik answered wholeheartedly.
Ares nodded with a grin, and I sighed before replying that I knew.
“We’re planning to lay out that composition. However, we’ll only script the major scenes or lines, and rely on the actors’ ad-lib for most of the battle scenes.”
I had a rough idea of what they meant.
“So, shall we have a duel? Each immersing into your roles.”
Ares looked at me, and Aldhrik, with an embarrassed expression, responded.
“Well, um, playing Gary might be a bit tough for me?”
Looks like that senior couldn’t remember my name.
It didn’t matter much, so I just shrugged and replied.
“It’s fine.”
Suddenly, Ares silently warmed up, and I walked toward the end of the dueling arena. Aldhrik, flustered yet resolute, prepared his sword.
After instructing Ares and Aldhrik on something, now it was Professor Veritio coming to me.
“Gary is fundamentally a unarmed fighter, do you think that’s alright? I did mention you could just mimic a duel.”
“It’s fine. In fact, I should do it earnestly, or else it wouldn’t feel right.”
I felt like if I didn’t at least exercise in this way, I would end up restless.
Professor Veritio looked startled but nodded, then the duel began amidst cheers.
“Aldhrik, fighting!”
“Awesome!”
“Ares, don’t let up!”
“So handsome, Ares!”
Both were quite handsome, so the cheering was enough to make my ears ring.
“Daniel, wipe them out!”
But not wanting to lose, Mei yelled my name. That fueled me to want to win less, but Rin seemed to get inspired from it.
“Daniel is the handsomest!”
Others around us made faces like “that’s a bit much,” making me feel even more embarrassed and lowering my fighting spirit.
‘This is so embarrassing.’
Anyway, seeing the two guys charging at me, I clenched my fists.
