70 Song Gods Theater (1/2)

Black haired wise man Chiyuki

Fluffy~. Chiyuki-san. I'm still sleepy. ......

Nao said with a yawn.

I look at them and see that Lino and Shirone are also very tight. Sahoko also seems to be in a bit of a hurry.

It's well past noon. You have been playing too much.

I'm sorry, Nao-san. But we need your help to investigate.

We're on our way to the Grand Theatre in the Republic of Ariadia.

The reason for this is that the people who belong to the donkey ears, of which Midas is the leader, are there now.

We are led by Midas to the theater.

The other members of Midas are myself, Reiji, Nao, Rio, Shirohane, Sahoko, and Decius. And then there's Decius.

Krasus stayed behind in the Shogun's office because he had other business to attend to. Sisyphe and the others wanted to follow me, but as expected of a large group, they had to put up with me.

Soon after, they arrived at the theater.

”Wow! I didn't know this was a big theater.

Reno makes a swallowing noise.

This theater is called the Alfoss Theater, to be exact.

Alfos is the older brother of Raina, the goddess of wisdom and victory, a male god of song and art. The theatre was built as a tribute to this god.

The myth of Alfos, the most beautiful man in heaven, is often associated with women.

He was beautiful since childhood, and it's a famous story of a dispute between Ferrier and Ishtia over the right to raise him.

In the end, neither of them gave in and Alfoss was to be raised by the two goddesses.

And perhaps because he has Ischthia as his mother-in-law, the god Alfoss is also worshipped by the followers of Ischthia.

I'm going to call the priest, please wait here for the hero.

Midas says, looking at Rage with a sink eye.

Rage looks a little uncomfortable.

It's the Alfoss cult that manages this theater. So the priest Midas refers to is probably also a priest of Alfos.

When Midas goes into the back, we are left behind.

The theatre is semi-circular, unlike the circular arena.

The arched seating area is lowered from a high point on the outside towards the center.

We are in the entrance of the theater.

Hey, Chiyuki-san, what is this relief? What is this relief?

Cyrone says, looking at the huge reliefs at the entrance.

The relief depicts a man with a bow defeating a strange monster.

'This is Albadon, Syrone. 'That's right, Sir Decius.'

I answer the question and look at Decius.

'You are well aware of this. That's right.'

Decius nodded.

'What is it, Chiyuki? What's that Albadon thing?

It was a long time ago, my dear Raige. In the early days of the founding of the Republic of Ariadia, an evil god called Badon attacked the country. Apparently there was quite a bit of damage at the time, but in the end the evil god was defeated by the bow of the god Alfos. This theater was built in honor of the god Alfos. And this relief depicts the scene. It's called Al-Badon, short for Alphos slaying the evil god Badon. Or A Badon, as it is also called.

I explain to Rage.

''As expected of the black-haired wise man. That's right, sir.''

I looked at the direction of the voice and saw a woman standing there.

'This is the first time I have met you, brave men of light. I am Clio, the priestess of Alfoss, who is in charge of our theater.

Clio thanks us.

We admire Clio. She has blue hair with a few waves and white skin, she's quite a beauty.

But there is something about her that bothers me.

Clio's ears are pointy. She looks like an elf.

I think it's unusual.

Elves sometimes go out into human society.

But I've never seen an elf with human social status.

Elves are rarely in positions of human social standing. This does not mean that humans are discriminating against elves, but rather that elves are not interested in human society.

In other words, this elf is a rather rare category.

''Hoe~. It's an elf. And your sister isn't a dryad, is she? It smells a little like the sea.

Nao says, rolling her eyes.

'Yes. I will be a Nereid, not a dryad.'

Clio smiles.

Nereids are one type of elf.

And unlike the common dryads, they are elves skilled in music who live in the sea, not the forest.

And the Nereid are famous for their beauty. For this reason, they are sometimes targeted by other races.

The story of the poor Nereid who had his girlfriend killed by Cyclops and was forced to become his wife is famous.

''It's rare. It's unusual for such a beautiful elf to be a priest in a human country. The gods must be delighted.

Rage said and touched Clio's hair.

''Fufu, you're very good at it, brave master.

Clio smiles cheerfully with a hand on her cheek.

Seeing this, Sahoko and Reno roar.

'Lord Clio!　It seems that the donkey ears of the troupe have a demon king worshipper in their ranks!　I'm here to investigate that!　If the situation arises, the next play will have to be cancelled!　Please understand!

Decius intervenes between Rage and Clio.

Rage reluctantly backs away from Clio.

Good job. He cheers in his mind.

'That's troubling. The play is a tribute to the god Alfos. We can't just cancel it without good reason. ......

Clio looks at Midas.

Midas slumps his shoulders apologetically.

If it were me, I wouldn't have any choice but to cancel it since there are people missing.

But the common sense of this world is different. For Clio, stopping an offering to the gods would be more difficult than anything else. He is reluctant to cancel the play.

'I'm certainly sorry about that. 'I'm certainly sorry, but there are certain circumstances. Moreover, I can't believe I'm losing my leading lady, Shenna, too: ....... There's no way I'll be able to find an understudy anytime soon. ......

Midas says, his eyes swimming.

Then Midas's eyes stop at one point.

'Um, what is it?'

Silone steps back as Midas stares at him.

'Yes!　Lady Syrone!　Could you take the lead role instead of Shenna!

Midas runs up to Cyrone and takes his hand.

Silone's mouth drops open in surprise as he suddenly grabs his hand and tells him.

And after a few seconds.

'Yes ----!

Sirone's screams were the wood spirits at the entrance of the theater.

The black-haired wise man, Chiyuki.

There is no ceiling over the seats and arena of the Alfos Theatre, and the sunshine is shining through.

It is said that if the tent is unfurled, the performance can be held even in the rain, but it is not necessary at the moment.

In the arena, the members of the donkey ear troupe are in the middle of rehearsing.

'That's impossible!　Mr. Chiyuki!　Absolutely not!

Cyrone says with all her strength to me.

'Do you think so?　I'm sure Sirone would be able to do it, though~

'I can't do this anymore!　Reno!　How could I be the star of a play!

Cyrone shakes her head bobbing her head.

The name of the play that Sirone hates is ”Alferia”.

It is the story of a princess who goes to save a prince who has been kidnapped by a witch.

Cyrone is asked by the play's leader, Midas, to play the role of Alfelia.

The protagonist, Alferia, is not only a princess, but also a knight and a master swordsman.

It's certainly a character that would fit in with Shirone.

''Is it?　I think it's a perfect role for Cyrone.

Rage says with a smirk.

It's obvious that he's completely amused.

'I can't!'　That's right! I think you're better suited for it than that, Reno!

Cyrone waves the story to Lino.

'Hmmm, I don't think that's Reno's character. This princess.'

Reno shakes his head.

Reno laughs, as does Rage. These two are similar in this way.

''Please!　Lady Syrone!

Midas is stuffing Silone with a hot look on his face.

Syrone looks annoyed as Midas closes in on him with a hot look on his face.

There is a part of Sirone that can't abandon those in need, even if they say something about her.

''Commander Midas, you shouldn't push him too hard.

A woman comes out of the group that is practicing.

She appears to be a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. However, I realize that her appearance is a lie.

She has magically changed her appearance a bit.

Her actual age is in her late 30s, maybe even 40s.

Most people might not notice it, but our eyes can't be deceived.

Everyone else seems to have noticed that too. They have a subtle look on their faces.

Who the hell are they?

'Ainoe. There's no way you can continue to postpone it so much, even if you say so. You should ask Shirone-sama to do something here.

''But I can't force you to do so. Commander, if you say that Shenna isn't here, then I'll play the role of the princess here, as I did before.

The two of them exchange in front of us.

And the name that Midas mentioned sounded familiar.

'Could it be that you are Ainoe, the great actress?'

I interrupt the two of them.

Then the woman called Ainoe looks at me.

Ainoe, the great actress, is a celebrity of the Republic of Ariadia. I hear she has a lot of fans among the upper-class uncles.

And until last year, she played the role of Princess Alfelia.

But this time, Decius' sister, Sienna, will be playing the role. What does she think about that?

'Yes, my brave friends. Yes, my name is Ainoe. By the way, what brings the famous Hero of Light to such a place?

Ainoe looks at us curiously.

'It's been a while, Ainoe-dono. My sister has been a great help to me.

Decius steps forward and greets him.

'Oh?　I didn't expect to see you here too, Master Decius. It's been a long time. When was the last time we saw each other?　I think it's around the time that Sienna joined the team, right?　By the way, what are you doing here today? What's going on?

Ainoe says with a bewitching laugh.

'Actually, that's what I'm talking about: ...... As I'm sure you know, Shenna has disappeared. And it seems that a demon king worshipper is involved in Shenna's disappearance. And that person is in this troupe.

Ainoe's expression changes when Decius says this in a stern tone.

''A demon king worshipper?　How do you know that?

That's because this whistle was found at the scene of the incident. Look at this flute. Do you see the black goat stamp on it?

Decius takes out his flute.

When he sees the flute, Ainoe's eyes widen when he sees it.

'This flute was entrusted to me by Shenna at the time the incident happened. I was told that this flute would be blown by a man dressed as a satyr. And it seems that the man who was playing it at the time of the incident was a member of the company here. Lord Ainoe, do you have any idea who the troupe is?

Marcius!

Suddenly, Ainoe shouts out loud.

His voice was so loud that everyone, including the troupe members, looked at Ainoe.

''Ainoe-dono?''

Decius looks at Ainoe fearfully.

'I'm sorry, Master Decius. It's nothing.'

Ainoe laughs, ”Ho ho ho.

But I didn't miss it.

Marcias must have been the name of the satyr who drowned when the incident happened.

Why did he suddenly shout that name?

'I'm sorry to be beside you, Ainoe. Perhaps you know the owner of this flute? I believe there was a person dressed as a satyr named Marcias?

I ask Ainoe.

'...... No, I don't know,'

Ainoe shakes her head.

I'm suspicious of the situation.

I'll ask Reno about it later. Reno has the ability to tell if he is lying or not. We should be able to tell if Ainoe is lying.

'Come to think of it, Marcias isn't here. Hey, does anyone know who Marcias is?

With that, Midas goes over to the troupe.

'Marcius or ....... Isn't that guy the most suspicious?

Rage said and everyone nodded. To be honest, Ainoe is suspicious too, but I can't let that show on my face in front of him.

After a while, Midas comes back.

'Apparently, he went out last night and hasn't come back.

Midas's face turned sullen as he said this.

'What has happened to you?　Mister Midas?

'No. ....... As a matter of fact, someone apparently saw Sienna following her when Marcias went out.

We look at each other at those words.

'I see. ....... By the way, do you know where this Mr. Marcius has gone?

Midas shakes his head at my words.

'No, I didn't know anyone who did.

So, do you have any idea where he might go?

'You often seem to go to the city outside the western wall for a drink: ....... Shall I go and ask if anyone is familiar with it?

'Yes, please. And then, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to talk to you in private for a moment.

Yes ......

Midas nods nervously and I take everyone away from Midas and Ainoe.

'Well, about the future. For now, Reno, do you know if she was lying to you?

I asked and Reno nodded.

'Ainoe, you were lying to me. It's like he knows about the flute.

Yes, I felt the same way.

It was Decius who answered that.

'Sir Decius, do you also have the ability to detect lies?

”Yes, wise man, I have the blessing of the angel Sursha.

Decius laughs and replies.

Surusha is an archangel called the Ear of the God King Odis. He is also known as the Inspector Angel.

This angel is responsible for monitoring what happens on earth and reporting to Odis.

And it seems that he sometimes interferes with the humans to make them live regularly.

He is said to give blessings to the promising congregation of Odis at that time.

It seems that Decius was also recognized by Archangel Sursha and given a blessing. If that's the case, he might have other magical abilities.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that there are two suspicious people, what should we do about them, Chiyuki-san?

Well, shall we split up? Someone to watch Ainoe and someone to look for someone called Marcias. That's why, Mr. Silone.

I look at Shirone.

'What, Chiyuki?'