The three picked at small pieces of pork, which were seasoned liberally with salt, pepper and a whole assortment of spices, watching a play another class was putting up for a rather enthusiastic audience. Nexus had helpfully informed Gaius that the torrent of energy he’d experienced earlier had made his physical form somewhat stronger, which really didn’t make the boy feel better, considering all the pain he’d experienced.

Rather, the wall was probably a trigger for something else, but the boy had stopped the sculpture there. He didn’t want to mar his memories here. After slapping Nexus on the head lightly for the umpteenth time, Gaius returned his focus to the ongoing play.

It was a retelling of the story of how Champion Solaris founded the Eastern Territories, just that every character had, for some reason, had their gender swapped.

“The girl that's playing Champion Solaris is rather pleasing to the eyes,” said Isabelle.

“They couldn’t find a boy who could elicit screams from girls,” Nakama supplied, “so they went with a girl who could draw eyes from boys instead.”

“Is that how Solaris is depicted in myth?” Gaius scratched his head.

“Yes,” said Isabelle. “As a very beautiful person. Legend has it that he had to turn down more than ten prospective brides to pursue his heart’s desire. He eventually succeeded in wooing her, after making a promise to return after the final battle.”

“Wait, that was before the Demon God was exiled?” Gaius asked.

“Yes,” said Isabelle. “After he came back victorious, he was promptly swamped by virtually every maiden in the Five Lands, forcing him to flee to the East with his significant other. Unwilling to be outdone, his pursuers brought their entire families along to follow, the precursors of the well-established families in the East today.”

“I was expecting a tale of legend,” said Gaius, “not some impossible love story that resulted in the creation of an entire continent.”

“Technically, it isn’t,” replied Isabelle. “There were already people living in the Cardinal Continents. It was just that when the Champions chose one to retire in, they brought a whole host of people from the Central Circle, who were privileged in both fortune and knowledge.”

“No guesses as to how that turned out.” The boy rolled his eyes. “So, is this play about the cross-continental romance that the Champion fled from?”

“That part is age-restricted,” Isabelle answered. “I really doubt it.”

Gaius could feel an odd expression worm up onto his face, and then shook his head. Turning to Nakama, he asked, “So, what part of Champion Solaris’ life is the class going to depict?”

“The scene where he, uh, she fights one of the Demon God’s generals,” Nakama replied. “They’ve been practicing it for quite some time. We’re almost at that scene!”

She pointed at the stage, where a girl was holding the hand of a boy.

“Wait for me,” she said. “After I vanquish the Demon God and his armies, we’ll have a wedding. I’ll make this world safe for you. And for everyone else.”

“Kusanagi Yuki...” The boy hugged the student playing as Champion Solaris awkwardly. “I’ll be waiting.”

The curtains drew to a close, and the audience went mad with screams. Gaius wasn’t sure why the students were cheering madly, but he understood immediately when Nakama informed him that it was the first time such public displays of affection were shown on stage.

“So…no relationships are allowed in Kishi Gakuen?” Gaius asked.

Nakama nodded, her eyes shiny. “They say that the school might get in trouble.”

“It can’t be helped,” said Isabelle. “This school has kids from all over Mi-Zu’s upper society. Any frivolous dalliances can have disastrous results for the family on the losing end of the scale, which will definitely spill over onto the school.”

“So, they’re missing out on a key educational aspect,” Gaius mused. “Poor souls.”

“I’d argue that they actually have a more fulfilling life, though,” said Isabelle. “If Kishi is like my own school, clandestine relationships are the norm there. I think it adds more fun to the whole experience, but I’m speaking as a spectator.”

“You never had one of your own?” Gaius asked, curious.

“Hard to, when you’re the youngest Knight in history,” Isabelle replied. “Of course, if you had stolen that title four years ago, I would have a more enriching existence back then.”

“I was eight back then. And Nakama’s four at that time.” Gaius shook his head. “You’re expecting way too much from children.”

Isabelle was about to speak when the curtains drew apart, to reveal what was a passable facsimile of a ruined city. Tens of students, each dressed as either a demon, human or beastfolk, lay face down on the floor. Red water was sprinkled everywhere, with puddles of what looked suspiciously like tomato sauce underneath the highlights of the current scene.

“Eight out of ten,” Gaius muttered. “The set was well done, but they could have staged the climactic battle in an open field. They should have stuck to the same type of liquid use to mimic blood, instead of wavering between red sauce and red water.”

“Are you really going to criticise a play set up by students younger—” Isabelle retorted, only stopping when she clearly realised that the speaker was actually younger than the actors on stage.

Suppressing a smile, Gaius said, “You were saying something?”

“Never mind.”

Gaius glanced at the two “fighters” lashing out at each other — the demon general was being portrayed by a guy in this gender-swapped play, so there was something to be said about gender equality in the real Demon God’s army — and then sighed.

“Watching this play reminds me of myself,” said the boy.

“You?” Isabelle repeated.

“They’re acting according to a script, no?” Gaius asked. “My appearance in Takamagahara was scripted too. It feels like I’m just dancing in someone's hand. I hate that feeling.”

His last sentence came out with so much vehemence that Nakama and Isabelle turned to him in surprise.

“Sorry.” The boy turned away. “I just find it distasteful. Was my coming to the East just for the sake of pressing my palm down on that wall? I’m doing things that I don’t understand, the aftermath of which falls onto me and not onto the person behind all this.”

Red liquid blossomed out of the demon general on stage, as the fake Champion ran a giant sword through his chest. Of course, to the sharp-eyed Gaius, he could see that the giant blade was lodged between the demon’s arm and chest, but there was really no other way it could be done.

“It seems…that my fate was to truly die at your hands.” The demon coughed dryly. The actor was clearly playing it up as much as he could, an effort that no one could find it in themselves to mock or disparage. “To think…I could not escape…my end.”

His body lit up, a brilliant yellow that made the audience flinch. “Forgive me…Lord. I will go ahead first.”

The light died away, leaving behind a single person standing on the stage. The curtains drew to a close slowly, serenaded by applause for the demon general’s actor, which died away as the narrator began to speak.

“Did you know?” Nakama asked, a bright smile on her face. “That last bit was really said by the demon general in history! Akechi-sensei told us so!”

“With as much emotion?” Gaius asked.

“Even more!”

Gaius glanced at the new scene on stage, which was now a wedding, and then shrugged. “I wonder what the real Champion Solaris thought when he heard them.”

It was, however, probably a question no one could ever answer.