Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 8.5 - Chapter 7

The Last Scene to You

“The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight, Part 2.”

The play being held in the Kisshouharukaze High School gym was nearing its end and the finale was just about to begin. The backstage crew who’d been working hard all this time now kicked it into high gear to make everything perfect for the final scene.

“Where’s Harumi-chan?!”

“She’s in position! She’s ready to go whenever!”

“Has the lighting been changed to the evening color?! Don’t screw this up now!”

“We’re good!”

“Where’s Satomi-kun?”

“He’s already gone up!”

They all wanted their perfect play to have a perfect ending.

The curtain was about to rise on the finale. Harumi, playing the part of the Silver Princess, was standing by on the side of the stage.

“That’s strange... What’s happening to me...?”

With the last scene almost upon her, she was unable to hide her nervousness. She put her hand on her chest and took several deep breaths, but that wasn’t enough to calm her nerves. Powerful emotions were welling up inside of her and she was struggling to keep them under control.

“All I have to do is act like I always do...”

This hadn’t happened before. She had no problems pulling off the scene during practice, and she hadn’t panicked during the last play like this. Being together with Koutarou always put her at ease.

“Why am I suddenly so anxious about seeing Satomi-kun? It wasn’t like this a moment ago...”

But now, all of a sudden, Harumi was starting to feel nervous about meeting Koutarou on stage. When she thought about standing before him, her feelings ran wild. It wasn’t like they’d had a fight, and it wasn’t like she’d had a change of heart. Nothing was seemingly out of the normal, but for some reason, she just couldn’t act normal.

“What should I do...? I-It’s starting...”

Despite Koutarou’s existence making her feel at ease just a moment ago, she now felt the opposite. It was like her emotions had been turned inside out, and she was now feeling very insecure.

“Sorry I’m a bit late!”

Theia, playing the part of the Golden Princess, finally arrived. In the last scene, the Silver Princess and the Golden Princess would be seeing the Blue Knight off. Harumi, Theia, and Koutarou would be the only ones on stage.

Theiamillis-san... She’s already gotten into her role...

Tears were streaming down Theia’s cheeks. She was already in character before even getting up on stage. Harumi was impressed.

If I use my feelings too, I can...

Inspired by Theia, Harumi decided to give herself over to her emotions as well, and let those guide her acting. In the script, the Silver Princess bid the Blue Knight farewell knowing that she would likely never see him again. So Harumi believed she could use these nervous feelings inside her to portray that unease well.

“Okay...”

Setting her mind to that, Harumi began feeling a little better. She was still anxious, but not about her acting.

“Harumi-chan, Theia-chan, you’re on! We’re raising the curtain!”

That was when the drama club president gave everyone involved the go-ahead for the scene. The curtain rose and a red light shone down on the meadow set. On the opposite end of the stage was a large stand with Koutarou at the very top of it. In this scene, the Blue Knight was supposed to be looking down at the two princesses from the top of a hill.

“Ah...”

The moment Harumi looked up at Koutarou, all of the anxiousness in her chest vanished. Just like it had with Alaia on that day.

When Harumi and Theia appeared on the stage, Koutarou was reminded of the real Alaia and Charl. Harumi didn’t have silver hair and Theia wasn’t as small as Charl. There was also a big difference in the clothes they were wearing. But the atmosphere was the same. It felt right. And looking down at them now, memories of that day filled Koutarou’s heart. It was such a profound feeling that he almost believed if he just closed his eyes now, he would be right back there with them.

“Layous-sama!”

“Blue Knight!”

And that feeling grew even stronger when he heard their voices.

“Koutarou-sama!”

“Blue Knight!”

Harumi and Theia began overlapping with Alaia and Charl in his eyes. Especially when he heard Harumi’s voice call out for Layous-sama.

Just what... am I seeing...?

Was it a fantasy of his memories? Or had Signaltin, which was hanging from his waist, responded to his feelings? There was no way of knowing.

“Empress Alaia! Princess Charl!”

The only thing Koutarou knew for sure was that the words he spoke now were not from the script, but from his heart.

I... I really, really loved them...

And as Koutarou reconfirmed his own feelings, the sight in front of him greatly changed. Before he knew it, the stage had changed into a real meadow. The swaying grasses reflected the red evening sun with a golden sheen and a strong wind blew overhead. It wasn’t just his sight that was affected. He could feel the wind and smell the grass. It was all the same as it was that day.

Pure white snow was falling from above. Catching the light of the evening sun, it gave off a silvery sheen in beautiful contrast with the golden meadow.

“Goodbye, Empress Alaia! Princess Charl!”

Koutarou was no longer sure where he was. Was he on the stage? In a dream? Or had he really returned? Whichever it was, he didn’t mind. He was getting to see two people he thought he’d never meet again.

“Don’t cry, Blue Knight! You’re a man, aren’t you?!”

Tears naturally began overflowing from Koutarou’s eyes. Charl scolded him for it, but Koutarou couldn’t help it.

“Blue Knight! Play with me if we meet again! Stay well!”

Charl cried too and waved her hand just like she had that day. This was exactly how he’d bid Charl farewell.

“Koutarou-samaaaaa!”

Alaia too called out to Koutarou with a nostalgic voice and a nostalgic smile. She spread her arms out and reached up towards Koutarou. It was as if she was trying to embrace him as he gradually moved further away.

“Even if we are separated by endless time and immeasurable distance...”

She spoke the words that never reached Koutarou’s ears that day over the engine noise of the Cradle. But he was hearing them now. He was incredibly surprised, and he reflexively leaned in so as not to miss a single word that fell from Alaia’s lips. He would engrave every word into his heart.

“These feelings will always be with you!”

That was the message from the past that had travelled through endless time and immeasurable distance to reach him.

The curtain fell on the Blue Knight and the Silver Princess with a thunderous applause from the audience.

It may have taken two thousand years, but Koutarou was finally able to hear Alaia’s heartfelt farewell.