“Self, let’s try this once more. Everyone, take your places. Focus!”
Professor Veritio, who usually seemed a bit off, completely transformed when it came to teaching acting or starting rehearsals.
He was truly a tiger of a professor.
You couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t just any great writer who earned the title of genius as the play began to take shape, raising the students’ expectations.
“Philea!”
Ares passionately shouted towards Rin. I thought about it earlier, but this part felt more like sincerity than acting.
“Ah, Geldmea!”
Rin let out a sorrowful voice, but her feet were surprisingly light, and Henchman 1 (May Plov) brought Rin before me.
“Geryyyyy!”
Ares was about to charge at me, but Helia (Arni Duratan), my secretary and fellow villain, blocked his path.
Sitting on my throne, I smiled, grabbed Rin’s wrist, pulled her onto my lap, and placed my hand on her shoulder, saying, “She’s mine.”
“Wait, wait.”
Professor Veritio suddenly interrupted, approaching me with a pitying expression.
Was my acting awkward? I thought I had gotten into character.
“Gery treats Philea like a mere trophy but is too gentle with his touch. Rin, is it okay if you handle her a bit more roughly?”
“Of course!”
Rin nodded brightly with a smile.
To the others, it might have seemed like a bold request from the professor, tactfully trying not to put pressure on Rin. But I felt it was filled with ulterior motives, scrunching my face in response.
“Weren’t we just fine?”
Professor Veritio shook his head.
“It needs to be rougher. I want a wild vibe, like in combat! And on top of that, provoking Geldmea is a must!”
“……”
“Okay, let’s go again.”
With a smile, Professor Veritio turned his body. I sighed, wondering what to do, when Rin lightly tapped my shoulder.
“I’m fine, so just do as you want.”
“No, I’m not fine.”
I felt awkward and slightly resentful.
Suddenly, Rin’s hand tightened.
“Do it.”
“……”
With that, Rin turned back to her starting position once more.
“Sigh.”
Well, it is just a play, maybe I was putting in too much personal feeling. I’m not doing this because I want to.
“Philea!”
“Ah, Geldmea!”
“Geryyyyy!”
The rehearsal continued once more.
Just like before, Arni Duratan blocked Ares while May Plov presented Rin to me.
Sitting on the throne, I pulled Rin roughly onto my thigh, wrapping my hand around her waist.
Yes, I am Gery.
I’ll make those eyes of Geldmea (Ares) bleed with tears of blood!
Fully immersed in my role, I buried my nose in Rin’s neck while casting a smile toward Ares.
“She’s mine.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“……Huh?”
“Uaaaah!”
At this point, Ares roared in fury but ultimately fainted from a hit by Arni.
But just now, Rin slipped in and said some lines that didn’t exist amidst Ares’ roar.
Something felt off, so I glanced over and saw her dazed, dribbling slightly, hugging me tightly.
“Okay! Cut! Perfect! Amazing!”
Fortunately, it seemed the others didn’t catch it, but Rin showed no sign of letting go.
“Hey Rin? Aren’t you coming out?”
“It’s yours. That’s right, I…”
Wondering what she was saying, I quickly pushed her away and stood up, but she looked at me with regretful eyes.
I felt like something would happen if I stayed close, so I swiftly distanced myself when Professor Veritio approached me.
“That was great! The wildness and provoking Geldmea were excellent! Keep it up.”
“Yeeeah…”
It felt a bit risky, but I nodded for now.
However, Rin’s antics continued.
“Let’s go, Philea!”
In the scene where Ares and Senior Althric could defeat me in the final battle and take away their stolen lovers.
“……”
Rin deliberately didn’t leave, hanging around me as she murmured one line.
“Is there any chance we could switch roles?”
In the scene where Gery reveals that the true love he cherished was his secretary Helia (Arni Duratan), she earnestly approached Professor Veritio to request a role change.
‘She’s filling her desires in there.’
I thought she was working hard like everyone else, but she was actually acting more personally than anyone else.
“Must be nice?”
May, serving as my Henchman 1, poked me while napping on the side during breaks.
With how much candy she was chewing, it was making crunching sounds.
“Must be nice?”
“Having the legal opportunity to bump into girls? I guess any guy would like that.”
“Sigh, not me.”
Maybe it was because of watching Ares as a bad example.
Knowing how much the girls from my village who liked him had to suffer, I felt averse to this sort of thing.
“Huh? Really?”
She said, rather surprised, but with a subtly satisfied tone.
Anyway, the play continued.
This time, it was Senior Althric provoking Roben in his acting scene.
“Philoa and Elise, come forward.”
Philoa was a fourth-year senior girl, and Elise was the fish in Ares’ pond.
With her beautiful golden hair, she exuded an exceptional grace that the other kids couldn’t feel.
Personally, she was the most eye-catching and impressive girl in Ares’s pond, but we hadn’t had much interaction until now.
“After the battle, let’s begin with the provoking scene.”
The scene where I would knock down Senior Althric and then steal Philoa and Elise, who liked him.
‘But wait, what kind of play is this?’
I wondered if this was really a student play, but anyway, while there were aggressive depictions, there wasn’t any blatantly obscene scene.
Only the story was like this; there was no little exposure precisely because Gery saw women as mere trophies.
“Kugh!”
Senior Althric, seemingly offended, collapsed and looked up at me, and I pulled Philoa and Elise closer into an embrace.
“……!”
“Hmm.”
They seemed a bit surprised, but since if I didn’t do this, Professor Veritio would clearly stop us and say let’s try again, I immediately read my line.
“Sweet, your women are truly sweet.”
As the practice went on, and the moment Professor Veritio signaled OK…
Philoa slapped me forcefully, storming off in annoyance. Elise shot me a cold glance before heading towards Ares.
‘Ah, I really want to curse.’
Some are rampaging, and others are saying don’t do it.
“Sigh.”
I scratched my head in frustration when May approached me again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
I hesitated to speak, feeling like I’d be just complaining, but May already caught on.
“Those guys suck, huh? Just doing their jobs in the play but making it all feel so bad.”
“……Exactly.”
Thanks for saying that so clearly.
Then May mischievously smiled and said,
“Those rude girls. They should be grateful to be hugged. If I were them…”
As I frowned at May, who seemed to be hungry for it, she just laughed, insisting it was a joke.
“I think I need to say it well sometime.”
Do they think I’m doing this because I want to?
“Let’s redo that last scene; actors, come back.”
At Professor Veritio’s command, the actors immediately regrouped.
Philóa openly showed she didn’t want to do this, while Elise pretended to act nonchalant, but I could sense her disgust from the golden glint in her eyes.
That made my determination to speak kindly crumble and get tossed into the trash.
“Hey.”
My voice was unintentionally low and contained emotion.
The two flinched at me when they saw I was serious, which oddly felt good.
“Enough. Are we playing here? This is a play. You all read the script and participated.”
“……”
“……”
Both stared at me like they’d seen a ghost. They didn’t expect me to say this directly.
“I get it. You wouldn’t want some strange boy touching you. But neither do I. I don’t like being around two strange girls. It’s disgusting. But we’re doing it anyway.”
Aren’t we making a big deal just to hit Yggdrasil once?
“Ugh, I have no urges towards people like you.”
I shot a cold glare at the two.
“I said to keep it in check.”
I gestured to them to leave, and they bowed their heads as they left. The rehearsal resumed.
“Sweet, your women are truly sweet.”
As I recited the last line, the moment Professor Veritio called for an OK once more…
“Good! Really good! Especially Philoa and Elise, your terrified acting was amazing. I thought you were genuinely scared!”
“……”
Seeing them scurry away without making eye contact made me think their scared acting didn’t seem genuine.
