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Now that our meals are done, on to the second half. With that said, we left the arcade, regrouped with Hans, and rode back in the carriage. Just like before, the carriage departed smoothly thanks to Han’s driving.¹ The place we’re heading for now is a theatre located some distance away from the shopping arcade.

With wealthy people gathering, it’s not only the shops that gather around them but different kinds of amusement facilities do as well.² One example is the theatre we’re heading to. They have two shows a day, with the plays performed during the afternoon and evening changing every week. It seems like this week’s play has the Demon Lord’s Subjugation as the motif.

「Urania, how much do you know about the Demon Lord?」
「Mn, it happened several centuries ago, so there aren’t many official records left. But, if it’s just the stories, then I’ve read a lot.」

She says that according to the stories³, the Demon Lord suddenly appeared several centuries ago in the western extremities of this continent and looked no different from a human. It was never confirmed if that was the Demon Lord’s true form or not. It was said that the Demon Lord would be in human form in one battlefield, sometimes in the form of a beast in another, one time even becoming a giant fish⁴ when attacking a coastal town.

The Demon Lord, having a variety of forms, was also said to have an amount of lives and abilities equal to the number of its forms. So to seal this all too enormous power, the kingdom’s Founder King, who would defeat the Demon Lord in the future, gathered twelve allies. This was to chip and seal the Demon Lord’s power.

Completely falling for this plan, the Demon Lord had its life and abilities taken away and, now weakened, the Demon Lord was defeated without any issues. The powers and abilities sealed during that time were left inside the bodies of the twelve who are now known as the original twelve sages and so.⁵

「That’s all I know.」
「Thanks, it really helps a lot. I’d probably just get confused if I had totally no prior knowledge about it.⁶」
「Nn, no problem.」

Since the theatre tickets were bought under the Iglesio household’s name, we’re sitting in the box seat on the second floor. With the dim lighting, the other audiences can’t see us here. And while there isn’t any popcorn served, we can order light meals and drinks to be delivered here, another perk of being in the box seat.

「We don’t need food, right? Want something to drink?」
「Nn, I’ll leave it to you.」
「Okay. I’ll just order some random stuff.」

What I then ordered was a fruit juice. It’s ripened to the point that it’s a bit frothy and, with chilled ones, it’s pretty expensive when ordered normally. This is one’s paid by the Iglesio family, yup.⁷

As the drinks arrived and the person that delivered it left, the play immediately began. While I was impressed with the great timing, it seems like today’s performance is a love story written with the Demon Lord subjugation event as the core plotline.⁸

The plot itself is just as what Urania taught me about, the introduction starts with the Demon Lord suddenly appearing and going on a rampage, followed by a man and woman promising a future with each other, with the woman getting taken away by the Demon Lord. The Founder King was referred to as the Hero and recruited allies as he chased down the Demon Lord. They gradually took away the Demon Lord’s power, finally defeating the Demon Lord in the end, successfully rescuing the lady.

After that, the two ended up together with the blessings of the twelve sages. Becoming Aureitas Kingdom’s Founder King, the Hero ruled the country for many years to come, living happily with the lady that became his queen. Like how the usual stories go.

However, the performance of the actors was the main highlight, the mix of their chilling performance and the stage production that made use of magecraft and magical items had me feeling an excitement that I’ve never experienced before.⁹ Urania was even teary-eyed as she watched the final kiss scene between the Hero and the lady.

「That was amazing.」
「Nn, it’s my first time seeing it, but I understand why it’s so popular now.」

I didn’t really think about it too much since we’re on the box seats, but the seats down below were completely occupied. It seems like this week’s troupe is ridiculously popular even among the troupes this theatre supports. Grandma Fiona told us that it’s highly unlikely for there to be open seats this whole week.

After the play, is the last programme for today, dinner. At a high-class restaurant that we would never go to under normal circumstances.¹⁰

「Welcome, thank you for coming by, Miss Lily, Miss Urania. As you will be having our restaurant’s choice menu, our chef shall be presenting the best of his abilities.」
「Thank you.」

After that reply, the meal we had was nothing short of extravagant. The main dish in particular, the koo burger steak, had its juiciness completely trapped inside, as the instant I cut the steak with a knife, it was just overflowing. Having our fill of everything, including the desserts, Urania and I promised to come back here again in the future.

「Fuu… I ate a lot.」
「Nn, we ate a lot.」
「Did you have dinner too, Hans?」
「Yes, I have. While I could not be on the same room, I never imagined that I was given the chance to taste the dishes of the『Arjeanne Planche.』」

This『Arjeanne Planche』is the name of the earlier restaurant. It’s a restaurant started by a court chef¹¹ after his retirement and the one in this town is branch store number 1. As a part of their services, they also offer their meals to the attendants and drivers and such. A noble’s attendant naturally has a high status too, so it’s probably a calculated move since if the store wins the attendants over, their lords should naturally try the restaurant out as well.

「Mn? This, we’re on the wrong way…?」
「Nope, it’s the right way. There’s just one place I want to go to last.」

Urania keenly¹² noticed that the carriage is going on a different path. The thing about the last programme? That was a lie.¹³ For the real final programme, I asked Hans to introduce me to a certain place.

That place is a slightly elevated area in the outskirts of town. While it’s still located within the town walls, there are no residences in the area and only a few people go there. I really want to praise Hans for even knowing about the spot.

「What do you think? Urania?」
「Nn, it’s really… pretty…」

The starry sky and the flickering street lamps made for a completely fantastic scenery. Yup, for what I’m planning to do from here on, the mood is really important.¹⁴

「Urania」
「Lily……」

I turned to face Urania. Hans read the mood and went somewhere else, so there’s nothing to worry about.

「This is… frankly, something I should’ve said much more earlier. It’ll sound like an excuse, but the impact of our first time was so intense that I… Um… You know… 」
「Lily.」

Urania’s piercing stare bores through me. Uh, yeah, it was really unmanly of me. Wait, no, I’m a woman now but, you know, figuratively.

「Mm, Ehem! Urania, let me say this properly.」
「Nn, what is it?」
「I love you. You’re the only one for me, Urania.」
「I love you too. Lily, you’re the only one I’ve felt this way.」

As I thought, putting it into words is really embarrassing. Still, I’m sure that saying it like this is important. Somehow putting my feelings into words, I feel like I’ve just emotionally connected with Urania.

Without noticing who initiated it, the two of us kiss.¹⁵ Our lips were locked for a slightly longer time than usual, arousing in me a small thought of mischief. From her lips, my lips travelled to the tip of her nose, her cheeks, ears, and nape.

「Nm!? Wai-, Lily?」
「Mhn, squeeky succy chu x2¹⁶」
「Mm, Lily…? Nhaa!?」
「Pwa~!」

Lastly, on Urania’s neck, I left a bite mark before separating my lips from it. Urania’s glare pierce through me once again.

「Lily? Why?」
「Hm? Well, yeah, this is the best I can do for now. Beyond this, please give just a bit more time.」

Giving what Urania wants is… something I don’t think I can do yet.¹⁷ Still, I’m thinking of starting with the things I can do for now. Well, a part of it was me wanting to mark Urania as mine but, to my surprise, it seems like she’s really happy about it. As she lovingly caresses the teeth marks on her nape, Urania’s brightly flushed face had a clear look of entrance.

1. Lyly: Good man Hans
2. Lyly: SSR pull 5, I guess
3. Lyly: Ohhh, demon lord exposition, finally
4. Lyly: Fish?
5. Lyly: So the demon lord had at least 12 forms?
6. Lyly: Kek, imagine watching endgame without watching the rest of the avengers (or even just Infinity War), or I guess the last season of Bleach without watching/reading the first few episodes/chapters at least. It would be hell to reverse engineer every character relationship or backstories
   Silva: ey I started following the MCU after I watch Infinity War
   Lyly: Excuse me? Well at least you started with infinity war.
7. Lyly: Kek, lucky you
8. Lyly: Ah, yes, people writing fanfics about history (though maybe canon, lol)
9. Lyly: Definitely would be awesome to see
10. Lyly: Kek, too expensive
11. Lyly: The royal court one, not the food court one
    Silva: we know
12. Lyly: Urania being sharp as usual
13. Lyly: Wha-!?
14. Lyly: Kissh?
15. Lyly: Kissh
16. Lyly: Gonna come back later
    Fire: No comment…
17. Lyly: ….Do it