Drama and smiles

"Will all this be enough?"

Mo Bai stood behind the curtain of the plaza stage, discussing the upcoming performance with Moqu.

After agreeing to help Moqu put on a show in the Garden that day, he had gone back to his ordinary life at the Academy.

Then, not long ago, Moqu had recovered and left the Infirmary. He had invited Mo Bai to join him for the final act of his theatrical venture.

That was how Moqu had put it to Mo Bai. As for his reason...

Moqu said he simply had no talent for acting.

Most plays were ensemble productions. He could never be like Captain Brant of Rinascita and draw so many people to his side.

As for a one-man show? He didn't think he had the talent for that, either.

He knew his limits. He lacked the charisma and ability to pull it off, so he had decided to stop stubbornly pursuing that path.

At least this time, though, he wouldn't be performing alone.

"Wow! This'll be my first time performing in a play in front of so many classmates!"

Lynae excitedly inspected the many props Mo Bai and Moqu had prepared together.

She wasn't the only one there. Rover stood beside her.

Mo Bai had invited both of them.

After all, the subject Moqu had chosen was impossible to perform alone.

"Voidworm Knight versus Voidworm"

The title alone called for two people to play the hero and the big villain, so Mo Bai had recruited Rover and Lynae to join the cast.

As for Mo Bai, he would stick to the original plan: stay behind the curtain and use his Cursed Technique to provide props whenever they needed them.

And quite a few students had come to watch the play that night.

Most of them, however, either didn't know Moqu at all or had seen him perform before but had no interest in him.

They had gathered tonight because the title had caught their attention.

Apparently, audiences in any world cared more about the title than the content.

"All right, stop touching everything. Just do what we rehearsed," Mo Bai said, coming over to Lynae with a helpless look.

She was lively no matter the occasion, especially now that the issue of her identity had been resolved.

Unfortunately, just as her crisis had ended, Mo Bai had begun having to report his whereabouts to the Academy from time to time.

Time passed, and at last the play began.

Whoosh—

Moqu played the Voidworm, while Rover and Lynae played the Voidworm Knights.

A while later, the excitement died down, and the students who had watched the play returned to their dorms to rest.

"Thank you both for coming to help today," Mo Bai said to Lynae and Rover.

"No problem! We're good friends. But in return, you can't say no the next time I ask you to go racing with me."

Lynae smiled, stretched, and flashed Mo Bai a victory sign.

"Sure. Once the Academy gives me permission to move around freely, I'll come along." Mo Bai gave a wry smile.

Rover cast an exasperated glance at the rambunctious Lynae, then told Mo Bai what she had thought of the performance.

She was an experienced performer herself.

Apparently, back in Rinascita, she had performed at Carnival with the Fool's Troupe and even taken the top prize.

"Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me, Mo Bai."

"I couldn't have done it without you two."

After chatting a little longer with his two friends, Mo Bai waved goodbye to them.

Phew.

Mo Bai then looked toward Moqu, who was still standing onstage.

With Rover and Lynae gone, nearly all the students below the stage had left as well.

"A lot of people came to watch tonight."

Seeming to sense Mo Bai approaching, Moqu spoke to the empty plaza.

"But most of them came to see Rover and Lynae. They really are Voidworm Knights, after all."

The corners of Moqu's mouth lifted slightly as he spoke.

Mo Bai couldn't tell whether that smile came from the joy of having so many spectators for the first time...

Or whether Moqu was forcing it because most of them hadn't come for him.

With that thought, Mo Bai glanced at the theatrical props behind him.

Among them was the Voidworm costume.

In the end, Moqu had played a mindless villain. How could a role like that make the audience warm to him?

"This play barely had any special effects. It didn't capture how imposing the Voidworm was at all."

"Lynae and Rover were so cool! I bet they looked just as heroic when they fought the Voidworm before."

Moqu suddenly repeated those comments. He sounded as though he were mocking himself.

"I heard those while I was onstage. Some people weren't happy with the play, while others were only interested in the two Voidworm Knights."

Mo Bai listened, unable to tell what Moqu was thinking or how he should respond.

Everything Moqu said sounded self-deprecating.

When Moqu finished speaking, he rose from the stage, turned to Mo Bai, and thanked him.

"Thank you for finding me my protagonists and for being willing to work behind the scenes."

Even though he knew their collaboration had only been a transaction, he still wanted to thank Mo Bai.

"When the audience was leaving, I noticed some other students, too."

A smile returned to Moqu's face.

This time, Mo Bai was certain it came from genuine happiness.

"They didn't complain about the cheap special effects or focus only on Rover and Lynae. They cared about the play itself."

As he spoke, Moqu looked past Mo Bai.

Behind him lay the backstage area, the result of all the work Moqu had put in.

And for Moqu, the reactions of those few students tonight had made it all worthwhile.

"Seeing those students smile from the bottom of their hearts made me happy, too. Thank you again, Mo Bai. I truly mean it."

Moqu bowed to Mo Bai.

He knew this play had only happened because of the promise he and Mo Bai had made.

Now that Mo Bai had fulfilled that promise, they likely wouldn't have much to do with each other in the future.

That was why Moqu wanted to thank him properly.

He also felt a little lucky.

Pestering that new student in the Cafeteria had been the best decision he'd ever made.

"Wait," Mo Bai said as Moqu turned away.

Under Moqu's puzzled gaze, Mo Bai took out his Tacet Disc.

"Let's add each other on Feixun. If you come up with any funny ideas later... send them to me. I'll give them a look."

Moqu immediately took out his own Tacet Disc.

"Okay!"