Chapter 14: The Show Must Go On!
At that moment, Neko Shinna returned with freshly baked snacks.
“Star Yoon, time to eat!”
“Yay~”
Star Yoon, who was engrossed in Zero Meow’s explanation of the concept of stars, shot her hands up in excitement.
“Zero Meow, White Fish, Night Lan, let’s all eat together!”
“Umm… meow…” Zero Meow hesitated.
At this rate, she was worried she might actually turn into a chubby cat.
But Neko Shinna’s cooking was so good, and the snacks looked even better!
There was no way Zero Meow could stand by and watch Night Lan and the others munch away while she sat there empty-pawed.
“Fine, I’ll just run it off later, meow!”
With that resolve, Zero Meow threw her hesitation to the wind and joined the others in their feast.
So delicious~
After they finished, Zero Meow cradled her little belly, an expression of worry crossing her face.
She had promised to exercise restraint, yet here she was, stuffed. Ji.
“Sigh~ Time to hit the books! Neko Shinna and Star Yoon need a crash course on Night Watcher basics. No more slacking off!”
However, Star Yoon suddenly chimed in, “Let’s play a game together! It’ll be relaxing!”
Zero Meow: “Meow?”
It clicked for her.
Star Yoon was just looking to goof off; she had zero interest in anything that didn’t involve slacking off!
But for some reason, Zero Meow wasn’t mad. Instead, she felt a growing desire to let things slide, even entertaining the thought of ditching the lesson altogether.
What if they just had fun?
After all, these lolis had a long way to go before they became real Night Watchers, and they didn’t even need to be frontline soldiers.
With that in mind, Zero Meow figured it might be okay to let them learn about being a Night Watcher later.
Thinking this, her spirit gradually deflated, and she joined in the slacking off.
Whatever.
Let it be whatever it wants; she was officially a lazy cat now.
Instead of babysitting, she’d rather be plotting how to mess with the adorable Night Lan and White Fish.
Thus, under the banner of Star Yoon’s “Slacking is Supreme,” Zero Meow started to kick back.
Slacking off is a civilized activity.
Seeing Zero Meow cozying up, Star Yoon smiled gently.
“Let’s all kick back and relax!”
…
At the Fish Playing House.
Night Star was watching an opera performance with Eypar.
The most captivating part for Night Star was seeing the performer sing while acting out their character. It looked so cool!
“Wow, this opera is super interesting, but it seems like our group doesn’t have anyone specialized in this.”
When it came to singing, it seemed like only the Singer could actually do that.
But how does one become an opera actor?
As she pondered, Night Star thought about pulling the Singer over to give it a shot.
She turned to Eypar and asked, “Eypar, do you think operas are fun?”
“Hmm… no real feelings about it.”
“Really? It’s so fascinating!”
“Night Star, could it be that, just possibly, you’re the only one who thinks opera is interesting?”
“Uhh…”
Night Star suddenly found herself at a loss for words as she glanced at the ancient origins of the opera on screen, realizing it was quite old-fashioned.
Come to think of it, normal opera performances were a relic of the past.
Such entertainment wouldn’t be well-received in this day and age.
“Umm… but I think it’s worth a shot…”
“Well~ if you want to try, then go for it. You’re so cute; there’ll definitely be an audience!”
“Eh? I don’t want to rely on cuteness to draw people in! Plus, I’m a spectator, not a performer!”
Night Star grumbled, shoving the whole idea to the back of her mind.
Meanwhile, Night Lan was having a great time slacking off with Zero Meow.
Star Yoon seemed to possess a magical power that made those around her relax, causing any negative feelings to fade away and everyone to enjoy a blissful state of slacking.
Night Star remembered her star was called “Slacking is Supreme,” enabling everyone to slack off together—what an awesome star to have!
With her around, there shouldn’t be too much pressure.
With that thought, Night Star stood up, ready to take a trip to the theater.
“Eypar, I’m heading to the theater. Want to come?”
“That strange theater? No thanks, there are tons of weird people there who might just reach out and send me spiraling into the void.”
“Wow… are you really that weak?”
“Hmph! If I could possess someone really cool, I wouldn’t have to worry about those kinds of things. How about you bring Night Lan back so I can possess her? Then I can safely go to the theater with you.” Eypar’s eyes sparkled with hope.
Night Star promptly shot that down.
“Better stay home then; wouldn’t want you causing trouble.”
“Wah wah wah~ Night Star is starting to dislike me.”
“I always disliked you; you useless ghost.”
“Night Star, climb!”
Night Star rolled her eyes at Eypar’s antics, which was just another regular day in their little house.
As Night Star was about to step out, Eypar wiped her tears and said, “Be sure to come back tonight! If not, Eypar will break, and then where will you find such a well-behaved and understanding ghost girl again? So please, don’t spend the night outside!”
“Got it, got it.”
With a nonchalant response, Night Star exited and closed the door behind her.
Time to check out the theater!
…
A short while later, Night Star found herself at the Rising Sun Theater.
As soon as she stepped inside, she saw all the members of the theater group gathered.
“Hmm?”
The Group Leader spotted Night Star and smiled, “Audience Performer! You came just in time; the performance is about to start, and it’s time to hit the stage!”
“Eh?”
Upon hearing this, Night Star’s heart raced.
Oh man, she had totally forgotten it was the weekend!
Weekends were when the Rising Sun Theater was active, so unless something special happened, they wouldn’t be hanging around the theater.
Night Star could easily imagine how the Night Watchers would react to the Rising Sun Theater performing.
With the Night Watchers coming in from other cities for backup, they would definitely be all hands on deck.
If that happened, the place where the Rising Sun Theater appeared might as well become a battleground.
“Yikes~”
Hopefully, the Night Watchers wouldn’t go all out.
Even so, Night Star wanted to play it safe.
“Group Leader, do we absolutely have to perform?”
“Yes. Staying holed up in the theater for training won’t get us anywhere or attract more audience. We need to showcase our talents before a crowd to make actual progress.”
“Umm, I could be your audience.”
“That’s not enough; one audience member won’t fill the seats and won’t give us any sense of pride, just peace of mind.”
“Umm umm umm~”
Night Star pondered deeply.
Looking at it that way, it seemed she couldn’t stop the Group Leader and the others from going out to perform.
She glanced over at the Singer, who shook her head, seemingly unable to do anything about it either.
She had to participate as the Rising Sun Theater’s Singer on stage.
Next, Night Star looked at the tiny Announcer, who wore a smile, completely unreadable.
After a bit of hesitation, Night Star finally nodded, “Then I’ll go too…”
It had been a week, and the Rising Sun Theater was set to hit the stage once more.
Only this time, it was the complete Rising Sun Theater!
