Chapter 16: "Platinum" the Play
"Letâs go! To the theater! Leeâ"
BAM! The door swung open, and Anna froze mid-step as she took in the sight of us inside (barely dressed).
âAwkward. Bad. Awkward.
Once again, alcohol had led us astray. Weâd managed to pull ourselves togetherâclothes on, just about ready to sneak outâwhen this happened.
What, me shouting? No memory of that⌠Hell, if sheâd heard it, she wouldnât have come near the room! This idiot mustâve been dead asleepâŚ!
Anyway, yeah. No way around itâwe did it.
Still no memories, but that aside, since Yous had already gone into his second dogeza apology, well⌠whatâs done is done.
No excuses left in this situation.
"S-sorry for intrudingâŚ"
Anna hastily closed the door behind her. Not a single word was spoken to stop her.
"So. The theater, you said?"
"Y-yeah, butâugh! You two acting all casual just makes me feel awkward now!"
After fully dressing and disposing of the evidence, we finally let Anna back in. Sheâd been shooting us a look this whole time, leaving Yous and me exchanging glances of our own.
"Whatâre we seeing this time?"
"U-um, wellâŚ"
âAnna was a huge theater nut.
In this world, theaterâstage plays, concerts, live performancesâwas one of the most popular forms of entertainment. With magic so advanced, the special effects made the shows way more extravagant than anything from my past life. Movies and TV, meanwhile, hadnât really taken off here.
Thatâs how insane live theater was in person.
Me? I preferred street performances, butâŚ
"Itâs Platinum! The newest versionâthis theaterâs doing an early run!"
"Platinum, huh?"
Yous and I shared a look. A wry smile passed between us. Back in the day, maybe, but now? No reason to avoid that story.
"Iâve seen it once, but Yous actually hasnât."
"What!? Seriously!? But itâs the hottest play right now!"
Well, duhâit was the latest heroic epic.
And that was exactly why some people still hesitated to watch it.
"Well, might as well take the chance. Who else is coming?"
"The leader said heâs busy. I asked around, and most of the others without prior plans are in!"
"Damn, thatâs a crowd."
Like, twenty people?
As I thought that, Anna puffed out her chest with a hmph!
"Fret not! For today⌠itâs my treat!"
"Ohhh, fancy~?"
My gaze drifted to Annaâs chestâeasily top five in the party for a reason.
As Yous nodded, impressed, Anna struck her proudest pose and declaredâ
"âI snagged us a private box."
âŚâŚ
âŚâŚA WHAT!?
Just how much money did this girl blow!?
I couldnât help but stare at Annaâs chest with utter disbelief.
"Platinum" refers to the most recent S-rank adventurer party to rise to fameâactive just a few decades ago.
S-rank adventurers are rare, appearing maybe once every thirty to fifty years. Most of the time, the rank is awarded to massive parties of dozens or even hundreds, recognized for their collective achievements.
But Platinum was different.
They were the smallest party possibleâjust six membersâyet they climbed all the way to S-rank. Unprecedented in history, their strength and accomplishments were legendary.
Naturally, that made them perfect for theatrical adaptation.
Six people was just the right number, too. Trying to adapt a party of dozens would mean flooding the stage with extras.
"Man, this version of Platinum really focuses on how cool the hero, Alfrith, is!"
âAfter the show, Anna sighed dreamily as she turned to me.
And she wasnât wrong. The performance was incredible.
Alfrith Platinumâthe man whose surname became the partyâs nameâwas a once-in-an-era hero. One of the few adventurers who ever slew an S-rank monster and saved the world.
Just reaching S-rank was rare enough. Most monsters were killed before they ever got that strong.
And actually defeating one? Even rarer.
Usually, an S-rank monster would just be sealed away and weakened over time. Even now, there were plenty of them locked up across the world, guarded by adventurers.
But Platinum killed theirs.
Yeah. They were that insane.
"That final battle? The magic they used was brand-newâdebuted in this show!"
"Oh, the one that gave the projected monster actual mass? No idea how they pulled that off."
"Right?! Human ingenuity is amazing! I got chills!"
Annaâs excitement wasnât about Alfrithâs dashing heroicsâit was all about the magic.
âŚShouldnât you be squealing over the hot guy right now?
But no. This was Anna, A-rank Wizard. Occupational hazard, I guess. No wonder she couldnât get a manâlearn to appreciate eye candy once in a while!
"So, you rented a private box just for this?"
Private boxes werenât for regular theatergoers. They were for nobles, the ultra-richâand cost a disgusting amount of money. Even by noble standards, this was excessive.
So why?
Anna wasnât just a theater fanatic.
"Actually⌠thereâs one more play I wanted you all to see."
She turned to the group with a grin.
"Next upââBronze Starâ! I really want to watch it! So⌠how about it!?"
âImmediately, everyone started packing up to leave.
Yeah. Expected.
"Bronze Star."
In other wordsâa play about us.
Of course itâd be mortifying to watch.
As a theater lover, Anna had to see itâbut she was too embarrassed to go alone. So sheâd rented the box, treating everyone, banking on guilt to keep them around.
Too bad for her.
If the leader had been here, heâd have gleefully agreed. But without him? No dice.
"Ugh⌠If anyone changes their mind, just say the word! My treat!"
In the end, only a few stayedâme, Yous, and some of Annaâs closer friends.
Not that anyone was wrong here.
âŚJust kinda felt bad for her.
But anywayâ
âThe play turned out to be a romance between a Yous-like guy and one of the female party members.
âŚCan I leave now too!?
"B-b-bathroomâ!!!"
Annaâwhoâd apparently drunk too muchâbolted out the second intermission started. The others scattered too, leaving just Yuth and me alone in the box.
He casually sipped his drink while Iâ
"...I wanna die."
âburned crimson with humiliation.
God dammit, why are we alone now!? Should I fake a bathroom break too!?
"Well, the script is well-written. For a romance between a tsundere girl and a noble pretty boy, itâs not bad."
"How are you so calm!? While everyone else was side-eyeing me, you just sat there, cool as hell!!"
Ugh, seriouslyâa love story between a "noble pretty boy" and a "hard-to-honest girl"?
Childhood friends, born and raised together. Heâs the privileged young master; sheâs his loyal support. They become adventurers, but she tries to distance herself because of their status gapâonly for him to whisper "Iâve loved you since the day we met" and refuse to let her go, and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAâ
The only saving grace? The actor playing "pretty boy" wasnât as hot as Yous.
Get a real heartthrob for the role, damn it! The guy playing Alfrithâs dad in Platinum was better-looking (though still not Yuth-tier).
"Still, plays like this are definitely for women. Platinum at least pretends to be an adventure, but letâs be realâit only works because Alfrithâs dadâs actor was hot."
"Ahaha⌠Well, Bronze Starâs still new. Probably just capitalizing on having a famous, good-looking adventurer as its gimmick."
Theater usually splits into "for men" (epic adventures, harems) and "for women" (romances, pretty boys). Platinum could go either way, but Bronze Star? Aggressively for women.
Annaâs the type to enjoy anything, from trashy harem wish-fulfillment to schmaltzy romancesâbut for normal people? Both are dangerous.
"Also, Rina, youâre being way too careless. Saying his name so casually isnât smart."
"Relax, I checked. No oneâs watching us. No spies, no eyes on usânothing."
âThen, a mischievous idea struck.
I climbed onto Yousâs lap.
"âRina?"
"Who cares? No oneâs looking."
His flustered face was priceless.
Something inside me had broken these past few days.
The word "restraint" didnât exist anymore.
Whatâs happening to me? Whereâs this going?
Scary. Exciting. Scary. Exciting. Scary. Exciting.
Maybe I shouldâve pushed things with him sooner.
"This playâs theme is romance, right?"
"...Your point?"
"So? Did it make your heart race, pretty boy? Watching us flirt like that?"
My eyes were only on him.
The play was just background noiseâI couldnât even remember the actorsâ performances.
But maybe thatâs why.
"I did. Listening to it while watching youâit felt like we were the ones up there."
"...Glad toâhear that."
Got him.
My face wasnât just hotâmy whole body was sweating, feverish.
God, if past-me could see me now, staring at him like thisâsheâd kill me.
Before I knew it, our faces were inches apart.
One more move, and the distance would be zero.
No way I could hold back now.
So Iâ
"Iâm baaaaaack! Intermissionâs not over yet, rightâ!?"
âThe door slammed open. Annaâs eyes locked onto mineâright as I was about to kiss him.
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