Lemmy's an enemy, a threat to Nelly. I thought he was a bit too annoying, but this just takes the cake. Just look at him, happily prancing in front of me, as if to say "Here. I'm turning my back to you because I know you can't do anything to me". He knows that he can use his Yellow Iro Ability to Command anyone he wants to do whatever he wants. In other words, controlling the actions and even thoughts of those close to him... Nelly, she might fall prey to his schemes. A cunning boy like him shouldn't have the power to basically hypnotize the girl he likes.

"Leeeeem!" Nelly called out to him, "Where'd the idea to go see a play even come from?"

"Where? Who knows." He returned a wholesome chuckle that quickly turned devious when he glanced over at me, "You know, sometimes the best things in life are those you never expect."

"In other words, you just so happened to suddenly wanna go see a play." Othelia saw right through him, "Then tell me, guy, what's the play about?"

"Oh, uhh... Well, that's... A-A secret! Yeah, wait and see, I don't wanna give anything away!"

He definitely has no clue what the play's even about, does he? Well, if he can freely use Command on me, then it'd only be fair for me to use Analyze on him as well and check. Mhm... Yep, he's never even gone to a play once in his life. He probably just wanted to showcase his Command to me in a display that'd scare me off, but it seems he's underestimating me quite a bit, cause I've been through all sorts of shit in my life!

"Hey, is that it? That large crowd forming over there near the dorms?" Nelly pointed, "Hey, wait a second!"

"What's wrong?" Lem then followed her gaze before absolutely fuming, "Argh! What the hell are those two idiots doing here!?"

"You two know them?" Eleanor raised an Eyebrow.

"I can recognize those big tits and even bigger pecs from a continent away!" Nelly then hollered at the couple, "Kevin, Kiria! Over here!"

"Hm? Oh, what's up, Nelly!" The muscular fellow smiled before giving her a friendly high five, "Good to see you! Oh, and you too, I guess."

"Wow, glad to hear I'm so well loved." Lemmy glared back at him, "In any case, what's this? Shouldn't you be at the gym right about now?"

"Same could be said for you, brat." Kevin ruffled Lemmy's hair to annoy him, "Well, truth is I knew you'd find an excuse to not go from the start, so I didn't even wait to hear your reply before asking Kiria to go with me to see the play."

"That's a bit rude, isn't it?" The Green haired lady who appeared to be Kevin's girlfriend added, "In any case, who might these people accompanying you two be?"

"Edaniel, Othyssa and... Honestly I don't even remember the third one's name." Lem half-heartedly introduced us with a shrug and a sigh.

"You damned piece of shit!" I flicked his head, "Get our names right, for fuck's sake!"

"I can see why you're not at all well liked in any of your friend groups." Othelia got pissed as well before correcting Lemmy's stupid names, "And for the record, it's Edward, Othelia and Eleanor."

"I'm really that unimportant of a character, huh...?" Eleanor sniffled once she realized her role in the story.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. You're very important to us." Othelia consoled her.

"Right... Well, in any case, it's nice to meet you all." Kevin shook our hands, "In any case, if you're here to see Rosette Takes Flight, then there's a group of empty seats all next to each other in the corner over there."

"Rosette?" I tilted my head.

"Yeah, that's the name of the play." Kiria explained, "Oh, sorry! I'm sure you already knew that, I didn't mean to sound obnoxious!"

"Nah, it's good." Othelia reassured her, "None of us are from here, so there's no way we would know. Thanks for the info, guys!"

"Yeah, no problem." Kevin waved us off before they went hand in hand to their own reserved seats in the back, "Then, we'll see you after the play."

"Man, Kevin and Kiria really do work well together." Nelly seemed to find great enjoyment in watching over them, "Well, that's the childhood friend effect, I guess. Though, not to sound like I'm bragging, but it was thanks to my frequent nudges that got them together in the first place."

"Yeah, thanks a lot..." Lem clicked his tongue before dragging her to the empty seats by the wrist.

"H-Hey, watch how you treat a lady!" She yanked her hand free before berating him, "Seriously, Kiria and Kevin belong together, so stop being so butthurt and move on!"

He turned his face away, but I still felt something was amiss about this sudden outburst. Reading his mind though, I could see exactly what was up. "I'm trying, dummy..." His thoughts read, "I meant to hold your hand just now, but there's no way I can tell you that..." Yeah, this idiot definitely won't be stealing any girls with that kind of behavior.

"But wow, the stage seems pretty well made." Eleanor inspected the props before the show started, "I wonder, is this how the Simpletonese do their plays? It's very professional."

"No, it's gotta be because of the play they're doing." Nelly smiled nostalgically, "Rosette Takes Flight is a very popular fairy tale no matter where in the world you are. Rosette, the fair princess who wishes to see the world, falls in love with a dove prince, who promises to take her with him into the sky. Sadly, the story ends with the bird prince being unable to carry her weight, so she has to give up on her dreams and continue her monotonous life at home."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Wow, you really know a lot about it." I noticed, "And what the hell kind of ending is that, even?"

"Ehe~, actually, it was my favorite bedtime story as a kid." Nelly chuckled, "Whilst the story ends on a bittersweet note, I always found the idea behind it way more appealing than any trashy good ending could muster out. To me, the ending always meant that if you really want something, you gotta do it yourself. It was always my headcanon that she succeeded later in life and married the bird prince after reaching his castle in the sky with her own strength. I'd always pester mom relentlessly to read it to me, so I'm really excited to see it adapted. Hell, it's kind of like I'm the quality control, cause I practically know the entire story by heart, word for word."

"Wait, so she doesn't even take flight once in the story?" Othelia frowned, "What a letdown, that's a totally misleading title."

"Huh..." Lemmy looked surprised before abusing that piece of knowledge, "Yeah, I knew that! Nel mentioned before how much she adored this story, so I really wanted to have her see it on the big stage today!"

"You did?" She tilted her head, "But didn't you say you just wanted an excuse to not go to the gym with Kevin?"

"Never mind the details! Look, it's starting!" He pointed to a lone girl not even wearing a costume standing anxiously in front of the mic.

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***

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"Mesdames et Messieurs." She fidgeted in front of the crowd, "I apologize for ze inconvenience, but... we will have to call off ze play for anozer day."

Hm? I wonder what happened? Well, it's good on our end, cause we can go home earlier this way, and I can interrogate Issei and the girls in peace. The crowd doesn't seem all too pleased though, which includes... Nelly.

"A-Ahem!" I found myself standing up on my own to pose the question, "And could I ask for the reason behind this?"

"Uncle?" Nelly looked up at me.

"I am very sorry, monsieur, but ze actress who iz playing Rosette haz come up wiss a cold." The girl on the stage bowed lightly, "We simply have no one else who knows ze lines by heart."

"Oh, is that so..." I then got an idea, "So if you found a replacement, it'd be alright to start the play?"

"Ah, well, oui. Zis iz merely a play ze students from ze drama club have set up." She looked surprised by my query, "If someone knows ze script from ze crowd, it would be very nice of zem to lend us a hand."

"I think I got someone in mind." I glanced down at the girl seated next to me.

"...Eh!?" Nelly jolted, "Y-You can't be serious! I've never acted before in my life!"

"First time for anything, am I right?" I encouraged her, "Besides, you said it's your favorite story, right? Not forcing you or anything, but I think you'd do an awesome job playing Rosette. Besides, I'm sure the dress they have would look stunning on you."

I know I kind of put her on the spot with this, but in truth, I also know that if there's anyone who could pull this stunt off, it's her. Nelly is extremely intelligent and good at memorizing, that much I know. Besides, just going off of logic, if Cecily read this to her every night before bed as a kid, then it surely can't have that many lines in general, right?

"Nel, don't listen to this snake's words." Lemmy actively dissuaded her from the idea, "You'll just end up embarrassing yourself in front of everyone. Not cause I think you can't do it, but because no one can so suddenly memorize and act out a play without any prior..."

"I'll do it!" She vigorously raised her voice, "I wanna play Rosette!"

Haha! That's my girl! Not ashamed or afraid of taking a step towards a new, fun direction at all! Heh, thank God she has more faith in me than that bastard Lemmy. Seriously, the fuck does he think this is? Besides our group, there's like 20 other people in the crowd, tops. Even if she did mess up major league, it's not like the entire University would see it. Lemmy fundamentally sees this play as a risk, whereas I only see it as a chance to broaden your horizons - Something he really ought to do sometime soon...

"Wonderful! Zen, please come wiss me, fillette!" The girl at the stage instructed, "A short break iz required for you to get ready, and we will begin!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered and clapped for the brave little girl who volunteered to play Rosette, which certainly added a spring or two into her steps. Once she went behind the stage, I sat back down as I felt an odd smile form on my face. Is this... pride? Heh, shucks... In any case, we sat there for another 5-10 minutes before the play properly began. It was a bit of an inconvenience for the other viewers, but they all seemed very interested to see Nelly have a go at acting, so all's good.

"Ah, it's starting." Eleanor bounced in her seat, "Gasp! There's Nelly, she looks so cute!"

"Tch... I guess..." Lemmy pouted, completely conflicted in his seat.

"M-Mon Dieu! Ce village est tellement ennuyeux!" Nelly began speaking in Simpletonese.

Uh-oh. Don't tell me this play is... Entirely written in Simpletonese? She's... gonna be alright, isn't she? Dammit, I didn't think this through at all, and by the looks on the faces of those seated around me, it was just as unexpected for them as well. Shit, I made a mistake, I might've just condemned her to a lifelong sentence of regret and embarrassment. Worst part is I can't even spit in Simpletonese, so I have no fucking clue if she's even saying the correct lines... FUCK!