"What?"
Faust is missing?
What do you do in a play called *Faust* when Faust disappears?
Elias and I exchanged a brief glance.
"Oswald went out and hasn't come back. Leo, do you know anything?"
So the student playing Faust is Oswald.
Hearing the name, I recognize him as one of the friends from the secret gathering. He's from Bavaria, a friend Leo has been close with since the third educational institute.
'It's... 7 PM now.'
I parted ways with Narke around 1 PM. Since they know how long he's been gone, it seems the other cast members must have seen him briefly.
Leo asked calmly, "Where was he last seen?"
"The practice room. He went out to buy a beard... and didn't come back."
"...Why would he need to buy that...?"
"Faust is an Old Human, right? I forgot about the characteristics of ancient humans."
I thought it was about old Faust's story, but it wasn't. Then again, since the human species itself has changed, magic-users don't have beards. To these guys, it would first be recognized as an Old Human trait.
Unlike me, Leo understood immediately and asked, "So, did he say when he'd be back?"
"No. But... he just said he was going to buy materials. Isn't five hours a bit much just to get supplies?"
"Something must have happened."
"Right~ I could understand two or three hours, but five is too long," Elias chimed in.
One student said in a despairing voice, "What if he doesn't come back before it starts? He's the main character. What have we even been doing for the past two weeks...?"
"..."
No one could open their mouths.
You might think he'll come if you wait, but...
It's an awkward situation to just tell them to wait blindly when he hasn't shown his face at practice for five hours. If something happened, he probably can't come.
Leo pressed his head and said, "Is there anyone else who memorized the script?"
"Narke probably knows it roughly..."
Leo bit the inside of his lip.
What good is it if the co-star knows the script in this situation? Narke's role is needed too, anyway.
Besides, he's just familiar with it; he probably hasn't perfectly memorized the lines and blocking for a role that isn't his.
Elias asked lightly, "What about dual roles? Did you ask Narke?"
"I think that would confuse the audience. Not everyone here is just enjoying the play. If we go in a less popular direction, people might come in and then leave..."
"Ah, wait! It's not certain that Narke knows. That was just my guess," one student hastily explained.
Leo stood up and gestured to the friends who had come to find him. "First, let's tell the professor, and then go out and look. You guys come too."
"Okay, got it."
Then one student cautiously said, "Leo, shouldn't we prepare for the possibility we can't find him? Honestly, finding him in this vast capital at just the right time is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are four other schools having festivals right now."
"Then we should find a replacement friend first before going. Is there anyone who knows even a little of Faust's script?"
"The one playing Gretchen probably knows a bit..." a student muttered without confidence.
As far as I know, Gretchen is a supporting role with decent screen time.
'If we make them do it, who will play that role then...?'
As expected, Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "...That won't work. Still, if it's someone who practiced together, they'd be familiar. So, I'll go tell the professor. Can you check if there's any friend who can swap roles with Faust right now?"
"Yeah, got it. I'll ask the others and come back. See you here later."
The students hurriedly left their seats.
Elias watched their retreating backs and clicked his tongue. "They worked hard preparing. That's too bad."
"Right. He should be back before it starts. Where did he go?"
"It's strange that he'd leave his post for five hours knowing there's practice. He likes to have fun, but was he the type to abandon his role and go play?"
My opinion aligns with Elias's.
In my memory, he was a bit loud but not irresponsible. If he were, Leo wouldn't have brought him into the gathering in the first place.
'Something's off.'
"...Right. I'll go see the professor first."
Leo left his seat, and not long after, the students I saw earlier returned.
They desperately avoided my gaze and spoke to Elias.
"Elias, where's Leo?"
"Not back yet. Any volunteers for Faust?"
"No... They say the main character has too many lines."
"Who did you ask?"
"I asked all the cast members. Narke said he'd give it a try, but since no one wants to swap with Mephistopheles, it probably won't work."
"Right, the devil has a lot of lines too~"
At Elias's words, one student cautiously asked, "...Elias, will you play Mephistopheles? Actually, we wanted to cast you first."
"What, is that an insult?"
"Ah, no, no! Anyway, Narke ended up taking it!"
"Well, whatever. If I can just go up and say anything, I'll do it."
Elias leaned back in his chair and chuckled.
The student, not giving up hope, asked, "Have you read *Faust*?"
"I've read it."
The students exchanged glances.
"Can we do improv...? Wouldn't that be okay?"
"Let's try. Elias, I'll read a line, and you reply with the next one."
"I said I've read it, not that I know it well. Fine, try it."
Elias crossed his arms and nodded.
The student quickly opened the script and recited a line. "I can roughly guess the nature of your kind just from the name. That aside, who are you?"
"I am Mephistopheles."
"..."
"Ah..."
"This won't work."
At that reaction, Elias grabbed the armrest and sat up straight. "What?! I answered exactly by the book! What's written there?"
"I am part of that force which always wills evil and always works good."
Elias just blinked at them, then opened his mouth. "...Are you kidding?"
"..."
"Who answers like that when asked who they are!"
"But they do! That's why you have to memorize it... Ah, no. Improv won't work either. The audience might gather, but it'll turn into a complete mess as it goes on."
"Should we let him try Faust?"
The students whispered among themselves. Elias, looking thoroughly provoked, clapped his hands and taunted, "Do it! Come on. I'll respond well."
"Okay, then I'll say Mephisto's line."
The student took a sharp breath and opened his mouth. "You amuse me. I wish we could get along well. I have come here now, dressed as a young noble, to rid you of your cares. Therefore, I advise you to immediately don attire like mine."
"Huh? Why should I?"
"...I'm not finished. Then you will be able to fully experience what life is like."
"Hmm? Hahaha! Changing one outfit will make my cares disappear. Aren't you taking life too lightly? If my anguish could be solved by that alone, I wouldn't be here before you like this."
At those words, the students' eyes widened.
"Hey! That was good just now."
"He condensed the lines to a tenth... but this seems like it could continue?!"
"Right. How should I shorten it? Ah, the person responding needs good sense here."
The student holding the script pressed his forehead with his other hand and spoke. "I can resolve that anguish for you. Although I am not a very great being, if you intend to set foot in this world keeping company with me, I will gladly obey you as you wish."
"...Hmm, is that so? No take-backs."
Elias raised the corner of his mouth, his whole face showing greed.
"..."
"What are you planning to make him do, and how much..."
"...I said act as Faust, not you! Faust should hesitate once!"
"Ah, don't expect too much from someone who's only read it once~"
At the student's reproach, Elias laughed and leaned back against the chair again.
The students went back to whispering among themselves, jotting something in the script. "It keeps getting cut off. Faust needs to ask what he has to do in return... but Mephisto has to avoid talking about the price."
"This isn't just one or two instances. Can the person responding answer immediately without creating gaps?"
"Seems tough. The friend playing Gretchen is even less the type to handle this. Improv won't work."
The students' faces darkened again.
Elias tapped the table to get their attention. "Hey, why? I'll just do it."
"No, actually, even if the responder can handle it, if we go with how you did it, Faust's part would be cut by more than half, leaving a ton of extra time... We compressed it a lot, so we could stretch it, but finding places to insert lines and having the others memorize them in the remaining three hours... is insufficient."
"I'll figure out how to fill the extra time somehow. I'll just say what I want, or whatever."
The half-convinced students exchanged glances, then shook their heads vigorously. "Ah, no. For some reason, if we just let you talk, I feel like our whole class will get disciplined."
Then, Leo returned to his seat.
The students avoided Elias's gaze and acted familiar with Leo. "Hey, Leo!"
"What's up? Did you find a replacement?"
"No. The lines are too many; they say they can't memorize them in three hours."
Leo let out a small sigh with a face that said he expected as much. "I see... I told the professor, and he said he'd contact the other schools. Let's go look for him now."
"What about the replacement?"
"If there's no one to take it, there's nothing we can do. The professor said he'd remove the name from the participant list if he's not back 30 minutes before, so let's try to find him by then at the latest."
The students closed their mouths with troubled expressions.
One student turned to leave, glanced at me as if to say something, but disappeared under his friend's urging.
Elias clicked his tongue and turned his body toward me. "Let's just do our own thing. Want to go spy on Class 1? I'm curious how sleepy their rehearsal is."
"We can't get our stamp that way, is that okay?"
"Ah, right."
Like Narke, Elias isn't a person who looks particularly strange wandering around with me. Since he's considered an utterly unpredictable human, there's this advantage.
Elias looked around and said, "Well, isn't there anything you've wanted to try~?"
"You're saying the same thing as Leo."
"Haha! Well, it's your first festival, after all."
I have nothing to say.
More than playing, a student disappearing on a day like this weighs on my mind.
'No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem like just skipping out.'
Since there's no way for me to go out and search right now, all I can do is wait for the professor and Leo to find him.
As the sun sets, it's getting chilly. Even wearing a winter robe, I can't do anything about the cold wind hitting my face. I got up from my seat and pointed toward the student council building where the practice room is.
"We got our stamp. Let's go watch the Class 1 play like you said."
* * *
The Class 1 practice room we went to was completely buzzing.
Now I see about forty of the fifty students gathered here watching the play rehearsal. At the same time, they were delighted that Class 2's lead had been absent from practice the whole time.
"..."
It seems everyone thinks it's just him skipping out.
They don't seem to be considering the possibility of a crime at all.
There are less than ten people on stage, but was this an event the whole class was this狂热 about...?
It's highly likely it became like this due to the competition with Class 2.
Elias, whose affiliation is ambiguous, walked down the student council building corridor the whole time with a bored face, looking into the practice room windows.
A Class 1 student who came out of the practice room spotted Elias and shouted, "Elias! Which side are you cheering for?"
"Who knows? Guess."
"Class 2, right?"
"I don't know about that, but regardless of class, a new song for the festival is a bit much, isn't it?"
"Is *Faust* right, then?"
Elias shrugged.
He didn't seem to think that was particularly appropriate either.
The Class 1 student exaggeratedly tilted his eyebrows and teased, "By the way, what will Class 2 do without their lead~? A one-man Mephistopheles show?"
"He'll probably come."
"But I heard there's another first-year who hasn't been seen for over half a day. Did you know? The first-year magic department kids are going around asking if anyone's seen him."
"Yeah, right. I see."
Elias gave a vague answer and shook off the Class 1 student.
'...'
There's another person who isn't coming?
It's festival day and a day with frequent external comings and goings, so it's possible... but the fact that they're actively going around asking means they sensed something strange too.
Either they went out together and got separated, or he said he'd be right back and then disappeared.
'Instead of searching among themselves, they should properly report it to the school.'
It's festival day, so he might have freely gone outside, but at the same time, because it's festival day, everyone's guard is down.
"Elias."
"Yes~?"
"...Never mind."
Sorry to say, but the school wouldn't credit Elias's word. I can't just grab anyone and ask them to tell the school, so I should find Narke and ask him to relay it to the school.
Then, our class vice-president came to the student council building and started handing out scripts to the Class 2 students.
Elias waved a script and asked the vice-president, "You're telling us to memorize this now?"
"Yeah, try your best."
"There's less than two hours left! Let's just do improv, I say."
"No, I tried it with the others, and it fell apart in less than 10 minutes. It's okay when it's just a line or two, but as it goes on, it doesn't lead to the conclusion. Huge gaps keep appearing."
Elias seemed to understand what he meant and just nodded without further objection. Improv is difficult unless you've practiced matching cues multiple times with it in mind.
"Ah, right. Lucas."
The vice-president looked at me and cautiously asked, "By any chance... did you cram for the midterms?"
—-----------
T/N:
Free members get 10 advanced chapters every week.
Want more? Get access to 40 chapters ahead on Patreon:
[email protected]//hiddenmage