Chapter 220: Chapter 220 - Deux Ex Machina

Chiaki's whole-hearted performance perfectly displayed the female general's inner conflict and tugged at the audience's heartstrings .

Seiji inwardly praised her performance .

This was the first time he had witnessed her formal performance . Surprisingly, she had blasted his expectations out of the window!

He wasn't particularly knowledgeable about what would be considered professional-level acting . But in his eyes, Chiaki's performance was on that level: it was just as good as the acting in a television show or movie performance .

After some inner struggle, Wakamei Touhou finally chose to attack .

She faced almost certain death resolutely as she led her squad in an ambush against the strong Ice Kingdom squad defending the prince .

After a fierce battle between both sides, only the red-haired female general and the Ice Prince remained standing .

The two lovers finally met again, but the times and people had changed .

Wakamei was pained as she recalled her naïve and innocent past self, as well as the cruel battles she had been through, and cried as she requested the Ice Prince to destroy the artifact and thus end the war .

The Ice Prince refused .

He had the artifact after all, and as long as he could bring it back home, it would be the Ice Kingdom's victory .

The two of them dueled against each other in single combat . In the very end, the female general personally slew the Ice Prince .

She won and obtained the artifact .

But her heart and body were both laced with injuries .

The previously gentle girl, transformed into a cold general after years of bitter war, grit her teeth as she destroyed the artifact, the culprit of the war between the two countries, and the cause of many sacrifices .

This action of hers was doubtlessly a betrayal of her country! It was a cruel betrayal of all her comrades that had fallen in battle just for the sake of this artifact .

Standing amongst the crowd of corpses, the red-haired general reminisced about her past .

This was the most tearjerking part of all .

Chiaki's monologue as the female lead, who had received such an impact to her body and soul, was extraordinarily moving!

Seiji could hear Mayuzumi, who was beside him, crying softly, as well as Saki sniffling . Some other audience members seemed to be making similar sounds of sorrow .

The red-haired general let her hair down and sang a slow, final verse as she danced elegantly .

Compared to the beginning, her voice was slightly hoarse, and her dance steps were purposefully clumsy .

However, it gave the audience a sense of... indescribable beauty .

The sounds of crying and sniffling grew louder .

The female general suddenly tripped and fell on the ground .

Of course, the song and dance stopped because of this .

While lying prostrate on the ground, she slowly turned to look at the Ice Prince's corpse .

"If I can go to a better, more beautiful world after death, I hope that I'll be able to dance once more with you there..."

After speaking that last sentence, she smiled faintly, picked up the prince's sword, and stabbed it into her own chest .

The lights gradually dimmed

The curtains slowly closed .

The story was over .

At least that was what Seiji and the audience believed .

Nobody left their seats . Everyone was waiting for the curtains to open back up again so that they could give their vigorous applause to all the drama club actors and actresses .

Nobody left their seats . Everyone was waiting for the curtains to open back up again so that they could give their vigorous applause to all the drama club actors and actresses .

However, when the curtains opened up again, they didn't see a row of high school students as they expected .

Instead, they saw the backdrop of the first scene again!

The red-haired girl walked out just like the first time, but with a confused expression on her face .

"I clearly already died... why..."

"Because you made a pure wish, young maiden . "

A goddess appeared .

The actress was... Anya Saigenji!

Seiji was shocked by the drama club president's extravagant appearance and serious expression .

There was no helping it—it was just far too much of a contrast from the impression he had of her... honestly speaking, he almost spat out his drink!

Luckily he managed to restrain himself and not bother anyone else .

The audience watched in shock as they learned from the goddess just what the artifact's true identity was .

It was an artifact that belonged to the gods, and it had the marvelous ability to manipulate time and space .

The gods accidentally dropped this artifact in the mortal world, causing humanity to fight over it .

And Wakamei Touhou destroyed it and released all its power while also making a pure wish .

The artifact's power responded to this wish and created a huge time-space dimensional hole that even the gods noticed! Which was why this goddess interfered . She helped change the flow of time back to before the start of the battle and reclaimed the artifact .

It was truly a deus ex machina... a direct interference from the gods as the ending .

Seiji even suspected that the drama club president, who was currently wearing something that resembled chicken feathers on her head, might have edited the end of the story to fit her own taste .

Yeah... the ending was somewhat forced .

Yeah... the ending was somewhat forced .

But he still enjoyed it!

Compared to tragedies, Seiji personally preferred stories with happy endings, even if the happy ending wasn't a particularly logical one .

The deus ex machina was a bit much at the end, but at least there was foreshadowing of the artifact's power, so the audience was able to accept it .

After this scene, the high school actors and actresses finally lined up in succession and danced to some joyous music before they all took each other's hands and bowed to the audience .

The auditorium's lights turned on again, signifying that this was truly the end of the story this time .

All the audience members stood up and gave them a huge round of applause!

...

"Heya, Seigo, what did you think of my club's performance?"

Chiaki had taken off her wig but was still wearing her acting outfit as she grinned and talked to Seiji .

Seiji simply smiled and gave her two big thumbs-ups .

"It was the best stage performance that I have ever seen!"

This was the complete truth .

"I bet you haven't seen all that many stage performances... but thanks for your praise anyways . "

"You guys did a really good job . Especially you as the main character—you did amazingly well . I think that you'd even be fine if you went and acted in a movie . Your performance was quite moving, and many spectators were crying, including this person beside me . " Seiji glanced at the manga author .

"Y-yeah . " Mayuzumi's eyes were sparkling as she looked at the girl before her . "I-I was incredibly moved! Your acting was amazing... can I get your autograph?"

Chiaki blinked and smiled . "I should be the one requesting an autograph . You're the creator of 'Honey Candy Girl,' Peach-sensei... correct?"

"Yes, that's right . " Seiji confirmed it .

"Nice to meet you, I'm Seigo Harano's classmate and good friend, Chiaki Wakaba from drama club . " Chiaki raised the hem of her dress and curtsied elegantly .

"N-nice to meet you, I'm Mayuzumi Amami..." The manga author reflexively tried to greet Chiaki in the same fashion but was obviously awkward about it .

"Nice to meet you, I'm Seigo Harano's classmate and good friend, Chiaki Wakaba from drama club . " Chiaki raised the hem of her dress and curtsied elegantly .

"N-nice to meet you, I'm Mayuzumi Amami..." The manga author reflexively tried to greet Chiaki in the same fashion but was obviously awkward about it .

It was rather cute .

Seiji and Hoshi both smiled, and even Saki's mouth arced upwards .

Chiaki also got to know the female editor . Then, everyone chatted about the performance just earlier with great gusto .

"Wakaba-san is so incredible," Hoshi said as they left the auditorium . "After seeing her awesome performance, I really feel like I want to try it out too and join the drama club . "

Join the drama club?

Seiji glanced at his junior, his eyes twitching as he attempted to imagine it .

But he had to admit, in a certain way, it seemed to fit...

"What about your literature club? Are you going to give up on that?"

"Er... It's just that in that club, I'm only reading books, and I feel like I'm not doing anything," Hoshi muttered . "Although sometimes we write a few things... I feel like writing isn't for me . "

Those that enjoy reading might not necessarily enjoy writing . This was very normal .

"That's why I want to try to do something else... something more proactive . Wakaba-san's performance... and everyone else's performance moved me so much . I also want to become someone who can move everyone like that . "

"I think that, compared to staying in literature club and only reading books, this type of action... is what counts as progress . " Hoshi looked up at the sky before glancing at the tall figure beside him . "What do you think, Senpai?"

Seiji smiled in response . "I believe that you're correct . Proactively doing what you want to do is indeed progress . No matter what the path is, or what the obstacles are, just taking the step in the direction you want to take is correct . "

This was how young people... how youths should be .

He reached out his hand and patted Hoshi on the back .

"Just do as you want, and make progress, Hoshi . "