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Even as she struggled behind the scenes, Ekaterina’s script was gradually taking shape.

When she somehow managed to squeeze in the hit song of the world-famous diva from her past life into the script based on the Journey to the West, the story had grown so unrecognizable from the original—but she just shrugged it off, thinking, “Oh well, that’s fine.”

She replaced Tripitaka with the travelling Saintess—a woman who apparently existed in this world and traveled from place to place saving people.
Since her active period was abnormally long for someone who supposedly existed, and her name varied wildly—from Estelle to Anemoni—Ekaterina suspects that different women’s stories were conflated.

By making the Saintess the lead character, the atmosphere has naturally shifted toward Flora taking the lead, but Ekaterina really wants to make that as her special request. She feels like there was an ironclad rule in her past life that Tripitaka had to be played by a beautiful actress.
Wait, come to think of it, why on earth was that?
An ironclad rule requiring a beautiful actress to dress up as a skinhead—now that I think about it, how incredibly audacious that has to be.
Well, apparently it’s because there was a TV drama adaptation of Journey to the West during the Showa era that was a huge hit thanks to that. A beautiful actress who died young played Tripitaka, and apparently she was absolutely stunning.
Come to think of it, there’s also an unwritten rule that Soji Okita of the Shinsengumi must be a handsome man—I’ve heard that’s because a handsome star played him during the Showa era, but I wonder if that’s really true¹.

Either way, putting that aside, I’ve roughly figured out the casting and the division of behind-the-scenes roles, and I’m currently sounding out potential candidates.
The final decision will be made at a class meeting, but I just can’t help but lay the groundwork—a habit ingrained from my past life as a corporate slave.
Well, “laying the groundwork” might sound a bit off, but I want to make sure the school festival doesn’t end up being something anyone in the class feels reluctant about—whether it’s because they find it hard to say no in front of everyone, or because they’d actually like a certain role but are hesitant to volunteer.
Also, just deciding things on my own because “this is what I want” feels a bit like something a villainess would do, and that’s scary.
Live pure, righteous, and beautiful! Say goodbye to the “villainess” image!

That said, there are some things Ekaterina simply won’t compromise on. For roles she absolutely wants someone to take on, she wants to secure their agreement in advance.
And so, right now, Ekaterina was facing a certain male classmate.

.

“Lighting Department…?”

Standing before the duke’s daughter, the boy, who had been nervously shifting his gaze, repeated Ekaterina’s words and stared at her in bewilderment.

His name was Yuri Ray. He was apparently the second son of a baron’s family; though they were in the same class, they had hardly ever spoken before.
There was one time, though. It was when the boy sitting next to him had snatched his notebook away and he was chasing after him down the hallway, Ekaterina had retrieved the notebook and returned it to him. That was about the only time.
Incidentally, it seemed he had become friends with the other boy without her even realizing it.

“Yes, I realize it’s an unfamiliar term, but I came up with that name for the role that uses lighting effects to enhance the play.”

While thinking to herself, “I’m sorry for making it sound like I came up with this myself,” Ekaterina explained.
That’s because the concept of lighting doesn’t even exist yet in the theater of this world.

.

Previously, as a reward for coming in first in her class on her first exam, Aleksei had taken her on a tour of the imperial capital.
It was during that tour, while visiting the National Theater, the most prestigious venue in the capital that she realized stage lighting such as spotlights, which had been commonplace in her previous life, simply did not exist in this world.

Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense. Spotlights are powered by electricity, and electricity hasn’t been invented in this world yet. In this world, light means flames, such as those from candles. Or the glow of prismites; in rare cases, like in the Jurnova territory, the Forest Folk used the light emitted by white pearl insects, but none of these sources are directional enough to be used for stage lighting.
So, while theaters had ordinary lighting, candles lit to brighten the interior, there was nothing that could be called stage lighting designed to enhance the performance.

.

Given that, it’s no wonder Yuri repeated the question with a completely baffled expression.

“Enhancing the play with lighting effects…?”
“Yes. I’m sure it would be wonderful. It’s something only Lord Ray, who possesses the rare magic of light, can do.”

Yuri Ray’s magic attribute is “Light.” While it’s not quite on par with Flora’s “Holy” magic, said to appear in only one person per generation, it’s a rare attribute found in only one or two students per grade.

However… it’s not exactly something that’s highly prized simply because it’s a rare attribute.

In the fantasy stories Ekaterina read in her past life, “Light Magic” had a rather wonderful image, often associated with the side of good, so to speak.
But in this world, Light Magic is, quite literally, magic that manipulates light.
That’s all it is.
One can generate light to illuminate their surroundings in dark places. It’s convenient.
It’s convenient indeed, but people tend to think of it as, well… lackluster.

Maybe it’s because, unlike the majority of elemental attributes like Earth, Wind, and Fire, it lacks physical offensive capabilities. Sure, blinding someone with a sudden burst of light in the dark would work, but situations like that don’t come up very often.
Although the Imperial Kingdom has enjoyed a long period of peace, offensive abilities are inevitably favored for their cool image. Even swordsmanship and archery, which are unnecessary in such peaceful times, are seen as cool, so perhaps it can’t be helped.

Perhaps because of his magical attributes, Yuri comes across as a bit of a loner. He’s also the second son of a baron’s family that isn’t particularly influential, so he seems to have low self-esteem.
However, his mana appears to be strong. Moreover, his mastery of mana control is exceptional.

“Your skill during the practical magic control exercise has impressed me much, Lord Ray. You created light in a location separate from your body and controlled it in various ways, didn’t you? It was magnificent.”
“No, that was nothing…”

Being able to perform remote manipulation effortlessly and even make light burst forth from a distance is a testament to superb control.
However, since magic control classes are naturally held during the day, and the practical exercises take place outdoors in bright sunlight, to be honest, you can hardly see anything. Because of that, his skills haven’t been fully appreciated by the class.

And Ekaterina found it a real shame.
In her past life, many forms of entertainment she was accustomed to relied heavily on light effects. If it were Yuri, he might be able to incorporate effects into a play that would amaze the people of this world.
Though he might also not be able to.

Well, after all, it’s just a whim—nothing more than a wild guess. I mean, this is a play Onii-sama is going to see, so is it really okay to just muddle through, relying on “whatever works” as my mental crutch? Sure, there’s the music from Olga-chan and Renat-kun, but I wonder if I can’t come up with some creative touches to make it a truly compelling theatrical experience… I ended up acting on nothing but that brocon impulse.
That said, it might not be such a bad thing for Yuri, either. After all, it might just give Light Magic a whole new value.

Just having the spotlight shine on the lead role is groundbreaking in this world. Only those who possess Light can make that happen.
If everyone tells him how amazing he is, Yuri will surely be able to turn the school festival into a happy memory.

“Would you mind giving it a little try? I would truly appreciate it.”

Folding her hands in prayer, she put all her heart into her plea: “Ray-sama, pwease!”

“I… if I can be of any help to Lady Jurnova…”

Blushing bright red, Yuri nodded.