Chapter 19: Never one, without the other

The recipient, who seemed to have some connection with the Opellum Mechanical Theater troupe performing at the theater today, asked me if I wanted to watch the performance, even though I had arrived earlier than expected despite having been doing other work in between.

I didn’t have any other deliveries after this, and it wasn’t too late, so I accepted the offer.

In fact, the biggest reason was that I wanted to show Set the performance in this kind of theater.

Since I don’t know when I’ll have time like this again to go see a performance with him, I’m making memories in advance.

But if Kindred is the main character, wouldn’t it be a play about death…?

Since it’s being performed for the public, I thought it would be at a level that even young children could watch, and erased the bad thoughts that came to my mind.

I decided that if such a scene came out, I would cover Set’s eyes.

The inside of the theater, which I was guided into, reminded me of an opera stage, as they say in my previous world.

A wooden stage in the center and the audience seats surrounding it in a semicircle.

Since it wasn’t showtime yet and people hadn’t come in, I looked around the interior and sat down in an empty seat.

While waiting for the performance to begin, there was a time to talk about the history of this troupe.

Apparently, this troupe was formed before the reign of Jarvan III, and they have been traveling around performing this play for a long time since then.

They said that they came to Ionia by chance this time and were able to perform, but honestly, I wondered if they were okay coming to this place, since that side is a country where people who hate magic gather.

Perhaps they are a traveling troupe, so they have many opportunities to encounter magic while traveling around, so they may not care much about it.

After the explanation about the troupe was over, the main performance began.

The main content of the performance was the death that comes to a girl’s tragedy.

The structure seemed very obvious, but I thought it was more in line with the theme of this play than a story with complicated intertwined stories.

Soon, the play began to enter the final stage, and the actress playing the role of the girl bit into an apple and began the dance of death, leaving her last words in a loud voice so that all the audience could hear.

“Ah, how beautiful is life, like a dream? It’s too late! I’ve only just begun to see the countless spectacles of life!”

Then, with a bang, smoke rose on the stage, and an actor dressed as Kindred appeared in the center of the smoke.

The actor was wearing two masks in the front and back, one in the form of a lamb and the other in the form of a wolf.

The actor approached the fallen girl, showing the white lamb mask.

The actor advised the fallen girl to accept death, but when the girl refused the offer, he switched masks and rushed in this time as if in a frenzy.

“You will not escape death, no matter what.”

As she bared her teeth, the fallen girl activated a device sewn into her blouse collar, causing a ribbon made of red cloth to flow like blood.

Fortunately, there wasn’t as much gruesome description as I thought, so I was able to watch comfortably.

As I left the theater where the curtain had fallen, I recalled the words that the actor playing the role of Kindred said to the girl at the end.

You can’t escape from death no matter what method you use…

But if the wolf and lamb are chasing you like that, I suddenly wondered if there are one or two people in this wide world who have escaped.

It would be nice if they appeared in person and admitted that there are such people.

But the fact that they appear in person means that they are coming to present death, so it would be better if they didn’t come, right?

I should just wash up simply tonight and go to bed early.

Suddenly watching this kind of play made me feel like Kindred might come tonight.

Well, the feeling is just because of the feeling, there’s no way death would suddenly come to this body that’s still in its 20s.

“I hear a heartbeat!” the wolf said, its golden eyes gleaming with joy. “Is that mine?”

Come to think of it, I also died when I had just turned 20.

I had briefly forgotten the fact that death is always by my side.

But who could have predicted that it would come so suddenly like this?

With a glimmer of hope that they didn’t come to kill me, I looked at them.

The lamb had sky-blue hair and a bow of a similar color, unlike what I saw in the theater, and the wolf was almost entirely white and several times larger than the wolf I knew.

One strange thing was that there was no body, only the head.

The lamb shook its head after hearing the wolf’s words.

“It seems they’re not afraid of us. We’ve seen many people like that. People who have no regrets in this world, or people who have someone to protect.”

“I devoured everyone without leaving a single person behind!”

This is not good.

It seems that their professionalism is too thorough to ask for mercy.

But, even if that’s the case, I can’t accept death yet.

Thinking of Set left in that world, I prepared to run away.

“The subject’s heartbeat is quickening, Lamb.” “They know.”

I’m going to run away, aiming for the moment when their attention is diverted from me.

Of course, I’ll be caught soon, but the chances of surviving are higher than being caught without a fight.

However, contrary to my expectations, they didn’t seem to be trying to give me death.

As the silent confrontation continued, the lamb offered me an answer that could resolve my question.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t come to take your life. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that you came to us.”

“I can’t chase that woman.”

The wolf said in a disappointed voice.

No, I mean, don’t try to chase after someone who hasn’t died yet and bite them to death, Mr. Wolf.

More than that, what does it mean that I came to them?

It seems like tonight is going to be a longer and more secretive time than usual.