Chapter 74

“Now, a new script is ready.”

The teacher said with a beaming smile, handing out a copy of the script to each of the children.

The children checked the script with doubtful looks.

At the same time, their expressions lit up brightly.

“Whoa…!”

“This is fun!”

Praise poured in.

Watching their reaction, the teacher continued in a lively voice.

“Well then, there isn’t much time left until the day of the play. Shall we practice together?”

“Yes!!”

The children shouted in unison.

***

At last, it was the Santiano Day.

People flocked in droves from early in the morning to the Sorte Theater, owned by the Winder Marquisate.

A heavy tension hung backstage where the children had gathered.

“Whoa, there are so many people……”

Poking her head out past the stage curtain, one of the kids swallowed a dry lump in her throat.

The other children also wore taut, nervous expressions.

Naturally, how could they not?

The theater seats were completely packed with audience members.

Even for someone like me, whose mental age is way higher than these little kids, I could feel the mounting pressure.

Yet, amidst all of them, there was uniquely one child who remained completely at ease.

“It’s fine.”

Brianna answered with a confident voice.

“Because my dad’s script is the best!!”

Good grief, her voice is so loud and ringing……

Side-eyeing Brianna with a dubious expression, I soon let out a faint smile.

Well, anyway.

It was good to see that Brianna had regained her energy.

Just then.

My eyes widened as I scanned the audience seating.

‘Ah, it’s sister!’

Far away, sitting side-by-side in the first-tier audience seats, were Brother Adrian and Sister Sabina.

The sight of them whispering softly to each other looked terribly sweet and affectionate.

“Look at that over there.”

“It’s the second young master of Valencia and Lady Sabina.”

It was obvious that the surrounding people were secretly paying attention to the two of them, too.

All that nagging I did to make sure they came and watched together really paid off.

‘Hehe.’

I grinned with a sense of deep satisfaction.

If they stick together like that, won’t sister and brother look exceptionally close?

Then nobody around will dare to mess with my sister recklessly, either.

After all, they’d have to worry about what Brother Adrian thinks!

Right on cue, sister and brother stopped whispering to each other and looked directly in my direction.

‘Oh, our eyes met.’

The two of them smiled side-by-side and waved at me.

I waved back at them in return.

However, completely separate from that, there were also some unwelcome guests visiting today’s performance.

‘Ugh.’

I cringed inwardly just in time.

Not far from the seats where sister and brother were sitting, people who had visited from the High Temple were gathered.

It looked like quite a few high-ranking clerics from the High Temple had attended.

And among them, Rebecca’s confident, self-satisfied face stood out particularly.

‘Ah, she’s seriously so unpleasant to look at.’

My stomach began to churn and boil.

Honestly, I know it myself.

In this life, Rebecca hasn’t done anything majorly harmful to us just yet.

Even so.

‘I don’t know. I just hate her!’

What on earth is this ominous, creepy feeling?

Whenever I look at Rebecca, it feels like facing pitch-black darkness where not a single ray of light can enter.

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

Among the individuals affiliated with the High Temple, there was only a single person I liked, but…….

‘I guess Dominic didn’t come.’

I thought with a slightly disappointed look.

Well, it made sense since Dominic had been receiving all sorts of training as a holy knight cadet recently.

I’d heard he was extremely busy.

Of course I knew he couldn’t hang out with me every single time.

Still.

‘……I wanted to show Dominic my cool side this time, though.’

I couldn’t help feeling a bit empty.

I scrunched up my brows in disappointment.

‘Seriously, is it normal to feel this empty over it?’

Just as I was pouting with dissatisfaction—

The theater lights went out.

Along with the playing of a dreamy, wistful melody, flags fluttered across various parts of the stage, creating the visual effect of a sweeping wind.

Standing right in the middle of it was a tiny child playing the role of the demon.

The play had finally begun.

I swallowed a dry lump in my throat.

‘I’ve gotta do well.’

It’s fine.

Didn’t I work extremely hard for this play?

Steeling my resolve firmly, I stepped forward onto the stage with large strides.

The spotlight shone straight down over my head.

I glanced sideways at the audience seating.

Sister Sabina and Brother Adrian both wore slightly nervous expressions.

On the other hand, Saintess Rebecca’s eyes were filled with absolute anticipation.

‘Hmph, just you wait and see.’

Things are definitely not going to go according to your plan, you know?

Smiling slyly to myself, I quietly stopped just behind the demon.

‘From now on, I am the Divine Messenger.’

Reassuring myself like that, I asked in a calm, composed tone.

“What are you eating so eagerly?”

The demon, who had been greedily crunching down on snacks, whipped around with wide, saucer-sized eyes.

Then, startled out of its wits, it backed away.

“Eek!”

“Why are you so startled?”

I squatted down right in front of the demon.

The demon stared at me with terrified eyes.

I asked back gently.

“If you just devour everything like that indiscriminately, isn’t it exhausting?”

“……It’s not exhausting.”

The demon shot back in a sharp tone.

“If I don’t swallow it down like this, my whole body feels completely hollow.”

This play begins with a dialogue between the Divine Messenger, Matris, and the demon.

A greedy demon that devours everything in existence.

Matris, the messenger of the god Regalis, descended in person to persuade such a demon.

“Actually, you know it too.”

I continued in a steady, conversational tone.

“The fact that what you’re doing right now isn’t right.”

“What do you know?!”

The demon shrieked with a trembling voice.

“What do you even know to talk about it so carelessly!!”

“That’s right, I don’t know anything about you.”

Nodding readily, I asked the child playing the demon: “So…… won’t you give me a chance to learn about you?”

“…….”

For a split second, the demon’s pupils shook violently.

I didn’t hesitate any further.

Pulling the child playing the demon into a tight embrace, I glanced back behind me.

I could see Rebecca, who had been smiling the whole time, now wearing a subtle, complicated expression.

Meanwhile, Sister Sabina‘s tension had melted away to a large degree.

‘Good.’

That contrast in expressions was immensely satisfying.

Patting the demon’s back, I continued in a clear, resonant voice: “So why are you acting like this?”

The ensuing narrative went roughly like this: Matris persistently persuaded the demon for days on end.

And finally, she realized why the demon was so frantic to swallow everything whole.

“……Because you were lonely.”

That was it.

The demon wasn’t acting that way out of mere greed.

Because it had been entirely alone for so very long, it was so excruciatingly lonely…….

To somehow overcome the sensation of having a gaping hole in the pit of its stomach, it would just gobble up anything and everything on sight.

And the messenger who carried the warmth of the divine—

“I’ll stay by your side.”

willingly chose to become the demon’s friend.

With Matris’s help, the demon was able to overcome its loneliness, and utilizing the countless pieces of knowledge it had swallowed up back in its greedy days, it devoted itself to helping humans.

Building sturdy houses where the wind couldn’t pierce through, making fluffy garments, and preparing warm meals.

And thus, in the end, the demon, too, became friends with the humans.

Clap, clap, clap!

A massive wave of applause thundered through the hall.

The play had finally ended.

The audience members all stood up from their seats, clapping their hands.

“Waaaah-!”

“You did such a great job!”

Amidst the countless cheers showering down upon the stage, the children stood in a straight line on stage, bowing deeply from the waist.

And among them, the lead actors who played the Divine Messenger and the demon stood right in the center of the stage.

Yes, that’s right—it was me.

‘As for sister and brother…….’

Stealing a glance around the area, I saw Brother Adrian and Sister Sabina leaping up from their seats.

Both of them were clapping so hard their palms looked like they’d catch fire.

‘I guess…… it turned out okay after all.’

Feeling deeply proud inside, I let my cheeks flush with a faint, pleased warmth.