Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 108 Did you hear a familiar voice?
"March Diary" is a play written by Sir Roman, a playwright from the city of Rustyn, combining local legends with rich imagination. He was also the first owner of the Central Theater, so after the play was written, it was first performed in the Central Theater. In less than a month, 72 performances were held and every show was sold out. Countless people wanted to get a ticket but could not, and some even climbed up to the high-rise pedestal near the theater to look at the performance, resulting in several falls from buildings.

Later, the play spread from the area near the Sosen Mountains to the entire northern border of the kingdom, and gradually became a popular masterpiece with unprecedented influence. The playwright Sir Roman also received royal honors and became famous.

"According to local legends, in the 11th century AD, when the tide of the pioneering era had just cooled down, a ferocious monster once wreaked havoc near the Sosen Mountains. It looked like a wolf and its voice was like thunder. Its eyes were like darkness and its mouth was like an abyss. It had the power to shake mountains and rivers and was extremely terrifying."

While enjoying the performance of the actors on the stage, Linger told Saint Shallia this story from ancient times, so ancient that at that time, Rostin City was just an unknown town on the edge of the wilderness: "When this demon wolf walked in the mountains, it made a sound like an earthquake and landslide, causing the wild beasts to flee in panic and dare not stop it; it opened its huge mouth and swallowed the sun in the sky, plunging the area into a long darkness, without sunlight, the caterpillars and dead, and life withered."

"People call it 'Noctus'. In the obscure dialect no one uses anymore in the Sosen Mountains, it means 'invincible, catastrophic force'. And because it swallowed the sun, causing the world to be dark, it was prefixed with 'dark', that is, the Sun Devouring Monster: Noctus the Dark."

The monster that devoured the sun...

Saint Shalia stared at the sun hanging on the stage with her beautiful golden eyes without blinking, and said as if talking to herself: "I hate this statement."

This was the first time the girl showed her likes and dislikes about something, which made Lingge look at her a little more, but he didn't take it to heart and continued, "The disaster of no light lasted for three months. When people were in a state of panic, a brave man stepped forward, stepped into the mountains, found the terrifying monster, fought it fiercely, and finally won. He successfully rescued the bound sun and restored the peace of the area. Unfortunately, he did not leave his name, so later generations did not know how to call him, and could only use the brave man as a synonym."

“That’s just the original version of the story, though.”

Lingge was watching the performance on the stage, which was now coming to an end. The backdrop was replaced by a stone castle. Among the bushes of thorns and rose vines, on a gorgeously decorated four-poster bed, the princess in the story was sleeping peacefully, surrounded by bright and beautiful flowers, like the purest soul in the world, waiting for someone to wake her up.

Sir Roman wrote a fairy-tale ending into the script for the first time. It happened to be the time when drama art was becoming more and more compatible with the lower classes and ordinary people were flocking to the theater in large numbers. This had a strong incentive effect on the society at that time. Multiple factors played a role at the same time, which led to the brilliant achievement of "March Diary".

Saint Charity seemed to be fascinated by the play. Lingge's voice sounded in her ears at the right time, as calm as the narration of the play: "In the script adapted by Sir Roman, the hero whose identity was unknown was given the name 'Rosh', which means 'a soul yearning for light'. At the same time, his heroic feat of defeating the monsters was not only to protect the peace of his hometown, but also to save the princess who was bound by the monsters and fell into eternal sleep along with the sun. At the end of the story, he entered the thorny castle and awakened the princess with the kiss of true love. Then the two left the city and went to live in seclusion in the mountains, and lived a happy life from then on."

The actor who played the brave man raised his sword high and made a vow with a pious expression: "...I have this sword and courage, so please let me promise you that I will definitely save you, and you will no longer be trapped in thorns or lost in dreams..."

Many stories end with the same ending, but only in fairy tales. The playwrights of that era liked to reflect reality, and they all agreed that reality was cruel, so they produced far more tragedies than comedies.

Saint Shaliya also said, “I like this story.”

The lamb bleated twice, as if echoing its owner's words.

Fortunately, the performance had ended by then and the actors were taking their bows. The thunderous applause and cheers from the audience drowned out other noises, so no one heard the two sheep's bleating.

While the audience was still there, Ling turned around and asked Saint Shallia: "The thread is gone. Which direction should we look for the answer next?" Saint Shallia replied softly: "No need to look. The answer pointed by the thread is in this play."

In this play?
Linger couldn't imagine how he could find the answer he wanted from a play that was performed a hundred years ago. Although it was indeed a classic, it was ultimately "just a legend."

“Many legends are not groundless.”

Saint Shalia said, seeing that the theater had begun to disperse and the audience had left one after another, she reached out her hand and gently plucked the invisible thread of fate in the void. Her slender fingertips were like stroking the strings of a guitar, playing silent and beautiful notes. As a result, the audience who left their seats automatically ignored the two incompatible outsiders and left the theater directly through the corridor next to the auditorium.

After the play ended, the audience seats in front of him quickly became empty, and the stage was covered by a black curtain and fell into silence. In the dim light, the theater itself was like a crawling beast, swallowing countless breaths and heartbeats. It was unknown when the next play would be performed. Before that, Ling Ge had enough time to think about his choice.

In fact, you don’t need to think about it for long.

The young man feels that he may have many shortcomings, but the one thing he is not is that he is indecisive.

So he made a decision when the stage curtain fell completely and said, "Let's go backstage and take a look."

Whether we look for the actor who played the brave hero Rochu or other staff members, it is at least better than standing here and staring.

Saint Xia Liya naturally would not object, so the two people and the sheep walked down the stairs next to them, along the aisle outside the auditorium, and walked towards the backstage of the theater. Although there were people guarding the corridor, they were misled by the thread of fate and turned a blind eye and let the two people pass.

Lingge followed Saint Shallia, looking at the signs on the doors as he walked. After passing through rooms with different uses such as the "Prop Room", "Makeup Room", "Storage Room", and "Fitting Room", he came to the "Actor's Lounge" and heard a rather excited voice, which was clearly heard by both of them through the heavy wooden door.

"I have emphasized many times that in this performance after you defeated the monster, you should not only have the pride and confidence after defeating the powerful enemy, but also have a kind of pity for misfortune and sadness for suffering! Why do you want to show this deeper emotion? Because the monster devoured the sun, causing the world to lose its light, plants to wither, animals, humans, including your most beloved princess, are trapped in an eternal nightmare! You stand up to fight the monster because of anger and sense of justice! Therefore, you declare your victory not to show your own strength, but to comfort the victims of these disasters and give them a sense of spiritual belonging! But your performance is too superficial, the emotional segmentation is not vivid enough, and it is far from a perfect interpretation!"

Is this a lesson for the actor just now?

To be honest, Ling felt that his performance was good enough to move the audience's emotions, but the person who was speaking in the room had higher requirements, even harsh, so there was such nitpicking criticism.

Moreover, the other party's voice sounded familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)