Chapter 23: Could this be talking about me?
A short while later, Night Lan and Night Star reached the area where the Rising Sun Theater was located. They didn’t plan on making a grand entrance but decided to sneak around stealthily as usual.
However, when she finally arrived, she realized that the scene was not what she had imagined at all.
“Hmm…”
There was no one around the theater. Only a few members of the Rising Sun Theater Group were standing at the entrance trying to attract customers, their faces frozen like they were blowing in the cold northwest wind. It was eerily quiet.
“Wow! Nobody came to show support? The theater group’s promotions seemed so good! Why would nobody come?”
Night Star Lan was very puzzled by this.
She continued to wait there throughout the morning and into the afternoon, but not a single person showed up.
Now all the members of the theater group were standing quietly at the entrance of the theater, giving off a forlorn and desolate vibe.
“Hmm, something’s not right here…”
Seeing this, Night Star Lan felt quite upset, then decided to control Night Star to check out what was going on.
Night Star left Night Lan’s side and went to the spot where the theater group members had promoted the play yesterday.
There were still many people there.
Even though the theater was in a remote location, if one had seen the performances of the theater group members, they would generally be a bit interested.
Last night, Night Star saw clearly that the crowd had looked very interested; even if they might not all go over, at least a few should have shown up to support them.
But why did it turn out this way?
When the promotion said the performance would be today, yet there wasn’t a single attendee opening day.
There must be some reason behind this.
Subsequently, Night Star started snooping around, stealthily listening to the gossiping people around.
Within a short amount of time, Night Star quickly figured out what the problem was.
It was none other than the Holy Church, which had done nothing but evil deeds!
The rumor that the Rising Sun Theater Group had offended the Holy Church had already spread throughout the region.
From the aristocrats to the commoners, almost everybody knew about it.
And those who had seen the promotion yesterday, upon knowing it was the Rising Sun Theater Group performing, were too scared to show up.
The Holy Church held immense power in this country. The name of the Holy Knight struck fear into people’s hearts.
Once one offended such a force, their life could be ruined instantly.
Since the Rising Sun Theater Group had done so, naturally, no one else dared to associate themselves with them, fearing being dragged into the trouble.
This explained why the Rising Sun Theater had no visitors today.
Understanding this, Night Star developed even more loathing towards the Holy Church.
“This sucks… everyone’s a bad guy…”
Since things were already this bad, Night Star couldn’t change much here.
She certainly couldn’t drag a bunch of strangers to give the theater group a hand – that’d be absurd and intrusive.
“Let’s go back…”
As she thought about it, Night Star returned back the same way, going back to Night Lan’s side.
Night Lan kept an eye on the theater group from a distance, unsure of what to do.
cr*p!
What she witnessed should have been a glorious moment for the theater group, why was it turning out so bleak?
It made her feel heartbroken.
By now, dusk was drawing close, getting closer to evening.
Yet no one had shown up, creating a strangely quiet atmosphere.
Night Lan also hid in the shadows, staying behind the scenes.
Unsurprisingly, the group leader and the others would be severely affected by this.
This disaster for the Rising Sun Theater Group could spell its destruction.
Perhaps the worst-case scenario would see the group crumbling apart entirely.
Night Lan really didn’t want to see that happen.
“Sigh… I came here to unwind, but my mood’s gotten rather complicated… wish machine, you definitely did us no favors,” Night Lan murmured under her breath, seriously suspecting Starchild had gotten something mixed up.
Meanwhile…
Standing at the entrance of the theater, the group leader sighed gently.
“It seems there will not be any audience coming today.”
Hearing this, her fellow theater group members’ expressions were filled with unease and confusion, as if they were frustrated at having no outlet for their performance desires.
“I’d say, maybe we shouldn’t have offended that holy knight?” one of the members remarked.
Immediately someone retorted. “Are you suggesting we let the holy knight take away Lady Sakura, who has taken so much time helping us with makeup?”
“No, I just think we shouldn’t have gone that far at the time,” the member defended.
“But if the group leader hadn’t acted, the holy knight would’ve taken away our makeup artist anyway. Can you think of any other solution? If the group leader hadn’t intervened, even if we had tried our best to stop him, he would beat us up and take our makeup artist anyway, does that make you happy?”
“We’ve lost our audience now! What’s the whole point of us putting on performances if not to showcase our talents and obtain public recognition? Without the audience, what’s the point of our persistence? Satisfaction? Self-cultivation? Self-amusement? All these consequences are due to us offending the Holy Church.”
“Friend, stay calm. You’re not being rationale anymore.”
Conflict began brewing within the group.
No matter how well-knit a collective might be, disagreements always arise even within a group like the Rising Sun Theater Group.
The Makeup Artist, Yoko Sakura, stood despondently on the perimeter, listening to the dispute, unable to help but purse her lips.
“Stop quarreling! Everyone please calm down, okay?”
As soon as the words came out, the bickering members gradually simmered down and became silent.
Seeing this, the Makeup Artist muttered softly, “Sorry, I need some alone time.”
With that, she turned and walked away, gradually distancing herself from the theater.
All the members watched this exchange and felt they had perhaps been a bit overzealous, sinking into self-reflection.
The group leader shook her head and said, “Everyone, go back to the theater and rest.”
…
The perspective shifts.
Yoko Sakura wandered alone amongst the little woods near the theater feeling deeply dejected.
“It’s all because of me that the theater is isolated. Is there really some divine force within me? I feel nothing…”
Yoko Sakura sighed, her emotions were swirling around inside.
In a way, she was the source of the rising Sun Theatre’s downfall.
Without her involvement, the theater group would probably be basking in the cheers and applause of the audience by now.
She is indeed the root of all evil!
But it’s not the time to lament over oneself. She’s been an integral part of the group, and she shouldn’t be wallowing in sadness but rather should help them weather this storm.
Only unity can bring real strength!
Right now, they desperately needed an audience.
But outside, hearing about the Rising Sun Theater might instill fear into people.
Under the Holy Church’s ominous umbrella, hardly anyone would dare step forward as an audience member.
“Ugh… isn’t there any true fan of performances who wouldn’t worry about all these things…”
Just as Yoko Sakura sighed, she suddenly remembered something.
“Wait a minute…”
In her memory, there was an ardent fan of the Rising Sun Theater Group.
If she knew the theater was having a show today, would she come?
Yoko Sakura’s mind flashed back to Nighthan Lan.
“If you were me, would you come?”
Just as she muttered these words, a voice emerged behind her.
“Muh, uhm, uhm, uhm, are you talking about me?”
