Vol. 1 Chapter 17 – The Masked Knight

Saturday morning the next day. It was the time I’d usually have to get up if I were going to school. But even at that hour, I lay in bed, savoring the holiday.

And that blissful time was supposed to last until just past 9 AM.

“Yuuto, how long do you plan on sleeping?” (Nagisa)

“…Why are you here, I wonder.” (Yuuto)

As I was pleasantly drifting in a light sleep, Nagisa entered my room.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Yuuto’s mother, the owner of the house, gave me permission.” (Nagisa)

“The owner of the room didn’t give permission, though.” (Yuuto)

“The homeowner’s opinion takes precedence.” (Nagisa)

I didn’t have any urgent reason to make her leave immediately, and guessing from the rather large bag Nagisa was carrying that she hadn’t just dropped by for no reason, I got up.

After quickly finishing my morning preparations in the washroom, I received a guest cup and tea from Mom and returned to my room.

When I got back to my room, Nagisa wasn’t on my bed as usual, but surprisingly, was sitting at my study desk.

“What? You want me to teach you something?” (Yuuto)

I placed the drinks on the night table and approached Nagisa. Buoyed by my experience teaching Akari and Souma, I thought, ‘I’m pretty good at teaching, you know.’

“That’s not it. I was thinking we should work on the script for the exam. Well, I could write it all myself, but since I’m technically in the position of having you help, I can’t just ignore all of Yuuto’s requests, can I?” (Nagisa)

“I see.” (Yuuto)

Her explanation made sense. We had about a month until the exam. Frankly, that probably wasn’t nearly enough time for an amateur like me to become even passable. Considering that, visiting my house at this hour was a reasonable course of action.

“Even if you say that, I don’t have any knowledge of acting, and I can’t just come up with requests on the spot…” (Yuuto)

“I suppose not. Well then, for now…” (Nagisa)

Nagisa stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, apparently pondering something. Then, as if an idea struck her, she took out a loose-leaf notebook and a pen from her bag and started writing something.

“Read this. I’ve written down the general setting and stuff.” (Nagisa)

I looked over the loose-leaf sheet she handed me.

• The general story is dictated by the school, and a sample script is also distributed, which can be used as is.
• The stage setting is medieval Europe.
• The roles are a princess and a knight.
• It’s technically a love story (can be changed).
• Costumes will be provided by the school.
• Similarly, lighting, props (large and small), BGM, etc., don’t need to be worried about.

“The period setting, the fact that the main characters are a country’s princess and her knight, those kinds of settings are common for everyone. The love story aspect is also common, but in our case, since there are only two of us and we don’t have the leeway to assign rival characters or anything, I think it’s fine to change it.” (Nagisa)

I gradually grasped the situation from Nagisa’s explanation.

“In addition to that, we don’t have characters like townspeople to advance the situation or explain things…” (Nagisa)

“Is that something we can manage by changing the script?” (Yuuto)

“Hmm… Honestly, I don’t know.” (Nagisa)

As she said that, she added, “But,” and made a peace sign with two fingers.

“I’m considering two options. First, as I just said, a large-scale script change. The other is to ask people from the Voice Acting Course to provide narration to explain the situation.” (Nagisa)

“Which one do you prefer, Nagisa?” (Yuuto)

“If we can secure the people, probably the latter.” (Nagisa)

If we can secure the people… Those words made me think of any friends I might have in the Voice Acting Course. Of course, not a single one came to mind.

“By the way, Nagisa, do you have anyone in mind?” (Yuuto)

“Nope.” (Nagisa)

An immediate reply. It would probably be difficult for Nagisa, who hadn’t been able to attend school much, to make friends in other courses whom she could rely on in an emergency.

“…Well, let’s set this aside for now, shall we?” (Yuuto)

“…Yeah, let’s.” (Nagisa)

Gazing at the paper Nagisa had given me, I imagined the day of the exam.

A packed audience. Judges who wouldn’t miss a single move. And among them, my own father.

As I thought about it, one possibility occurred to me. Judges connected to the entertainment industry. Me on stage. And beside me, my father…

I’d been so focused on myself being on stage that I hadn’t considered the possibility. Could our blood relationship be exposed? If someone connected to the industry became suspicious, it would be quite dangerous.

“Hey, Nagisa, this is kind of embarrassing, but could I cover my eyes? With something like a mask.” (Yuuto)

Covering my whole face would be suspicious, but if I could hide just my eyes, it would reduce the risk.

“Embarrassing? After you looked so determined in my room that time?” (Nagisa)

“That was… kind of the atmosphere…” (Yuuto)

Thinking back on it now made my temperature rise. I really wished she wouldn’t bring that up anymore.

“Hmm… Just the eyes, you mean? Like a Venetian mask? The kind you see at a masquerade ball.” (Nagisa)

“Yeah, yeah, something like that.” (Yuuto)

“Well, it might work. A knight with a mask is cool, and if it’s just the two of us, it could be good characterization.” (Nagisa)

I breathed a sigh of relief that my suggestion was accepted.

“Oh, come to think of it, I got one from a photoshoot before… I wonder if I brought it when I moved.” (Nagisa)

Muttering that, she exclaimed, “I’ll go look for it!” and dashed out the front door.

“That was close…” (Yuuto)

I muttered unconsciously to no one in particular and collapsed onto the bed.

If I hadn’t realized the risk here, the worst-case scenario could have happened. If so, it wouldn’t just be a family problem; Nagisa’s exam itself might not have proceeded properly. As long as it wasn’t public knowledge, there was always a risk. As I was reminding myself of that once more, I heard the front door open again.

“Found it! Something like this, right?” (Nagisa)

Nagisa, who came into the room saying that, was holding a mask exactly like I’d imagined. Was the design a fox, perhaps? It was white-based, with striking red accents here and there. But it felt more…

“Isn’t this more Japanese-style than Western?” (Yuuto)

“Hmm… Well, yeah.” (Nagisa)

Saying that, she approached me as I was half-sitting up on the bed and held the mask to my eyes.

“It’s cool, so it’s fine, isn’t it?” (Nagisa)

“…Yeah.” (Yuuto)

She smiled innocently as she said that, still a little defenseless as always.