"…With the noble vow of blessing, I shall toast to the dawn of a new festival!"
Too long.
Unnecessarily so.
I took a deep breath and lowered the hand I'd raised dramatically.
Marianne had been watching the performance with a stiff expression since the middle of it.
The acting instructor, however, seemed quite impressed. He shook his head slightly as he approached me.
"Mr. Granach. You're certain this is your first time—"
"Mr. Granach."
Marianne raised a hand, silencing the instructor.
The room instantly turned its focus to her. The initial gentleness in her demeanor had vanished.
"Your projection is lacking."
She pointed at me with the tip of her fountain pen.
"You won't be able to perform on stage with that level of volume."
She wasn't wrong.
The field I'm accustomed to is on-screen acting.
While that doesn't mean a quiet voice is acceptable, the volume required to project on a stage—where one must resonate with their entire body—is different.
Unfortunately, Luca's physique doesn't lend itself to a naturally resonant voice.
"Additionally, your movements are small. The same goes for your expressions."
I nodded.
Everything she said was true.
In visual media, subtlety and naturalism are emphasized. In theater, however, it's different.
In a space where no cinematic techniques or editing exist, the audience is immersed not by subtlety but by exaggerated, raw expressions of emotion that people rarely show in everyday life.
Marianne clasped her hands together, her sharp eyes fixed on me.
"Mr. Granach. This performance is not suited for the stage. To put it bluntly, if I were to describe it… it's the sort of acting that would work well for swindling someone one-on-one."
"..."
She's accurate.
Though I tried to tailor my acting for the stage, it must have still appeared overly naturalistic to someone immersed in theater.
Still…
'Now I see why her critiques are the way they are.'
She doesn't filter her words.
Of course, as someone who literally needs to manipulate her, her recognition feels like high praise. It doesn't bother me at all.
For those aspiring to genuinely stand on stage, however, such blunt assessments might be devastating.
'Well, in any case….'
I succeeded.
Suppressing my smile, I answered simply, "I'll keep that in mind."
A silence followed.
After a long pause, Marianne, who had been staring at the script, raised her head.
"Do you have time at midnight?"
***
The atmosphere in the practice room was tense.
The ten or so apprentices remained in their seats, even though the session had ended.
One of them, seething with frustration, stood up and kicked a trash can.
Bang!
"Damn it…!"
The outburst earned him a flurry of sharp glares.
"What?! Aren't we all thinking the same thing?"
"..."
"Does Marianne Baum even criticize other people's acting? No, right? So why is she suddenly nitpicking a complete newbie who's never even acted before?!"
The oldest apprentice finally spoke up.
"Bürfel."
"What?"
"Just keep quiet. Everyone's upset about it anyway."
"But this isn't just any critique! For us, it's like she's saying we're hopeless cases and not worth her breath. But for him, it's like she thinks talking to him will make a difference!"
"Who doesn't know that? Just accept it."
"No, how can you? You've been here for five years. If anyone should be angry right now, it's you!"
The room grew colder at those words.
The oldest apprentice glared at Bürfel before letting out a long sigh.
"He did well. He's different, and with some refinement, he'll surpass us all."
With a bitter expression, he left the practice room, throwing out one last piece of advice.
"This isn't a school. You must not have realized that since you haven't been here long. Know where that attitude works and where it doesn't. Spend your energy practicing instead of complaining."
"..."
Bürfel clenched his fists.
Turning to his peers, he muttered, "Hey."
"..."
"We can't just sit here and take this, right?"
A few shook their heads and got up.
"…Let it go. He did well. I'd support someone like him, too. Let's just practice, like he said."
"Yeah, I'd do the same. Now stop whining and work."
"You think this doesn't matter? If he rises, how many more years will it take for us to get a chance?!"
His peers scoffed and left the room.
"What are you going to do? Beat him up and chase him off?"
"Whatever, man. Good luck. I'm just going to focus on practice."
By now, fewer than five people remained in the room.
Staring blankly at the departing figures, Bürfel finally turned to the others left behind.
"…Hey, guys."
***
"You've studied acting before."
The moment I entered Marianne's practice room at midnight, she greeted me with the question.
I couldn't help but laugh dryly.
'After all those critiques, now this?'
It was obvious, though, that her earlier remarks had been her way of expressing interest.
From the moment she silently endured the apprentices' performances with closed eyes, I knew—she wouldn't waste energy on something she considered useless.
"No one asks if someone has studied acting before. The question is how many years it's been."
"This is my first time."
"That's impossible."
"Why do you think so?"
She merely shrugged but then seemed to think of something and spoke.
"You performed without a script. Don't tell me you conveniently practiced that exact passage dozens of times on your own. The only explanation is that you've acted Faust for years."
"It was my first time reading those lines today."
"..."
Marianne clasped her hands together with a forced smile.
"Mr. Granach, I dislike jokes. They're the biggest waste of time in the world."
"I wasn't joking. I simply memorized the lines."
"Meme—"
Marianne's soft smile lingered as she stared at me, an unspoken pressure asking how long I intended to keep this up.
"…I'll prove it. Hand me a script."
"Very well."
She pulled a sheet from her files and handed it over.
"This isn't from a play. It's ten sentences. Memorize it in one minute."
It wasn't difficult.
When I recited it flawlessly after just a minute, her expression hardened.
"You really haven't studied acting?"
"No."
"Really?"
"…Yes."
"..."
A slow smile crept across her face.
"Can you come in the morning as well?"
And so, for the next two days, I told the family I was on leave and spent all day at the theater.
Marianne Baum was surprisingly approachable once you met her standards.
Her obsession with deconstructing and refining every aspect of my acting kept me at the theater until the early hours each day.
'Well, the more time I spend with her, the better for me.'
Building rapport with her would make things far easier once I infiltrated the Catacombs.
As Marianne glanced out the window, she clapped her hands.
"Alright, let's call it a day. At this rate, the sun will be up soon."
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes. Oh, Mr. Granach."
As I turned to leave, Marianne stared at me for a long moment before speaking quietly.
"Let me see your hand."
"Why?"
"I have something for you."
'She's quick.'
She wasn't trying to give me anything.
Marianne Baum was testing me, likely to determine if she could sense magic from my pulse.
Despite deliberately suppressing my core as much as possible, she still detected traces of my magic. That alone was impressive.
If my suspicions were correct, the reaction I needed to display was clear:
"No, thank you. I'll be on my way."
"Well, suit yourself."
***
Marianne shrugged as if it didn't matter and added, "Be careful on your way home."
She had told me to be careful.
What I'd dismissed as a casual farewell now seemed more literal.
I sighed heavily, pulling out the wallet with my forged identification to hand it to the men blocking my path.
Thankfully, I only had 10,000 pel on me.
'Pathetic.'
What kind of law enforcement allows this level of chaos?
I narrowed my eyes, scanning the distance. Two more men stood guard at the alley entrance, likely to prevent my escape.
Of course, getting caught wasn't just bad luck or poor policing.
"Rich, huh? Must be nice being a noble. Maybe I should've worked for a noble family myself."
Calling this much money "a lot" was laughable, especially in a place where you either carried cash or wrote checks.
As I moved silently to leave, one of the men grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into the wall.
Bang!
"..."
"Where do you think you're going? We're not done here."
"I gave you what you asked for. What else do you want?"
My calm retort made them glance at each other.
"Well, well…"
"This one talks real smooth."
They'd gone out of their way to mask their faces, but the tension in the air was palpable.
"Let's finish this quickly."
Before the words even settled, I saw something coming toward me. Instinctively, I twisted my shoulder back to dodge.
The man throwing the punch stumbled awkwardly and yelled in frustration.
"What the—"
"You idiot, stop embarrassing us!" another man barked, swinging his own fist at me.
Thwack!
"Agh!"
"Oh, you're dead now!"
"..."
Even I was caught off guard.
Kicking someone away shouldn't have been this effective.
'Let's confirm something quickly.'
Frank Bürfel
Favorability: -7Title: —Health: +2Mental Power: -5Magic: —Skills: +1Impression: -2Luck: 0Traits: —
All his stats were exceptionally ordinary.
A quick scan of the other two revealed similar levels.
If his health had been between 3 and 5, they might've been on par with students from the Imperial Second Academy. At 2, they were merely above average among commoners.
And my stats surpassed theirs across the board.
'Still, fighting four at once isn't great odds.'
As I dodged a charging attack, I furrowed my brow.
They were serious.
Judging by the familiar voices and the fact that they knew where I worked, they were from the theater troupe. Their goal seemed clear: ensuring I wouldn't be able to return.
Bang!
They had realized that attacking me one-on-one wouldn't work and had resorted to coordinated efforts.
One man had grabbed my shoulder from behind, pinning me as another moved in front to block my escape.
Thud!
I felt a jarring blow to my head and struggled to regain focus. Elbowing the man behind me in the solar plexus, I managed to shake him off, but another attacker from the alley entrance rushed forward.
Losing my balance, I hit the ground, only to feel a punch land squarely on my face.
Smack!
"Ah, finally. That felt good."
"Damn, I didn't think he'd be this tough."
Blood seeped into my mouth from a split lip.
I wasn't in dire straits yet, but it was clear I couldn't fend off four people with brute force alone.
I needed to use magic.
A single snap of my fingers could immobilize all of them. That was the logical course of action.
But…
'No.'
I needed to endure this. Absolutely.
Turning my head, I focused on the path leading back to the troupe's office building.
Someone grabbed my collar and hoisted me up, their arm pulling back to throw another punch.
***
"..."
"Think we should keep going? His eyes are still open."
"Nah, he can't even stand. Hey."
Someone tapped my shoulder.
"You know why you got beaten up, right?"
"..."
"If you'd worked your way up properly, one step at a time, this wouldn't have happened. We might've even treated you nicely."
"Yeah, exactly. If you'd just known your place, we wouldn't have gone this far. Now, stay out of it."
"We wrecked your face so bad you can't come back, anyway."
"Right."
They laughed among themselves and muttered a few more words before leaving.
If anyone couldn't return, it was them. By morning, they'd all be in custody.
Their masks might've been an attempt to deny involvement, but it was pointless. I had already identified them by name through my status system.
I wiped the blood from my face.
The air reeked of iron, and my suppressed magic was no longer fully contained. The blood mixing with it rendered the effort meaningless.
'At least that's settled….'
I exhaled deeply, staring up at the sky.
Cold wind dried the blood on my skin, making it stick uncomfortably.
'They should show up soon. What are they waiting for?'
Closing my eyes and reclining against the ground, I finally heard footsteps approaching.
Splash!
"Ugh!"
Ice-cold water drenched my face, forcing me upright.
Marianne Baum stood before me, expressionless, holding an empty bucket.
"Thought you might need this."
"..."
I glared at her, not out of fear or anger, but because it was the appropriate reaction to this situation.
"No, I don't."
"Don't you?"
Of course, she was right.
Anyone discovered to have magic would face immediate execution outside Bavaria. Even here, the Empire's zero-tolerance policy meant no one could rest easy.
"I didn't realize 'be careful' would mean this."
"Oh, don't worry. I didn't orchestrate it. Still, you hear all sorts of things in a troupe."
"Then why…"
"You're wondering why I didn't intervene?"
"Yes."
"You were thorough. Most people would've used magic to escape, no matter what."
She glanced around the alley before looking down at me again.
"But not once did you use magic. If it were me, I'd have given in at least once."
"I don't know what you're implying."
"Well, we're all in danger of being found out, but there's no need to be so guarded."
"..."
At least the beating had paid off.
I fought the urge to laugh.
Marianne spoke quietly.
"You're a mage."
When I didn't answer, she smiled faintly and crouched to meet my gaze.
"So am I."