"What?"
Faust disappeared?
What are they going to do if Faust disappears from the play?
Elias and I exchanged a quick glance.
"Oswald went out and hasn't come back. Leo, do you know anything about this?"
So the student playing Faust is Oswald, huh?
The name rang a bell—he's one of the friends from our secret gathering.
Being from Bavaria, he has been close to Leo since their days at the Third Academy.
'It's 7 PM now...'
I parted ways with Narce around 1 PM. Since they know how long he's been missing, I guess his fellow cast members have seen him since then.
Leo asked calmly.
"Where was he last seen?"
"The rehearsal room. He went out to buy a beard... and hasn't returned."
"…Why does he need to buy a…?"
"Well, Faust is Old Humanity. We forgot the features of ancient humans."
I thought they would talk about an older version of Faust, but I was wrong.
Since the human race has already evolved, mage humans don't have beards. To the people here, a beard is first and foremost a feature associated with Old Humanity.
Unlike me, Leo quickly understood and asked, "So, did he say when he'd be back?"
"No. He just said he was going to buy some materials. It doesn't make sense for it to take five hours."
"Something must have happened."
"Exactly~ Waiting two or three hours is understandable, but five is too long."
Elias chimed in.
One of the students spoke in a despairing voice.
"What if he doesn't come back before the start? He's the protagonist. What have we been doing for two weeks then…?"
"...."
No one could find words to say.
Maybe we should wait and see if he shows up….
It's awkward to suggest waiting around aimlessly when he hasn't shown up for five hours of rehearsal. If something happened to him, he wouldn't be able to come.
Leo massaged his temples and said, "Is there anyone else who has memorized the script?"
"Maybe Narce knows it roughly…."
Leo bit the inside of his lip.
Knowing the script doesn't matter if he isn't playing the opposite role.
We also need the role Narce was supposed to play.
And even if Narce knows it, it's likely not memorized to perfection—he isn't the one playing that role, after all.
Elias asked lightly, "How about having someone play two roles? Did you ask Narce about that?"
"That would just confuse the audience. Not everyone is a theater enthusiast. If we go with something too unconventional, people will just leave…"
"Ah, wait a second! Saying Narce knows the role isn't certain. I was just speculating."
One of the students hastily explained.
Leo stood up and gestured to his friends who had come to find him.
"First, let's inform the professor and go look for him. You guys come with us."
"Okay, got it."
Just then, one of the students spoke cautiously.
"Leo, shouldn't we also prepare for not finding him? Finding him in this huge capital at the perfect time is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are four more schools having festivals right now."
"Then we should find a replacement first before looking. Is there anyone who knows the Faust script, even a little?"
"I think the person playing Gretchen knows some of it…"
The student mumbled without confidence.
As far as I know, Gretchen is a supporting role with quite a bit of dialogue.
'If we ask Gretchen to play Faust, then who will play Gretchen…?'
As expected, Leo pinched the bridge of his nose.
"…That won't work. But they're at least familiar with the cast. I'll inform the professor, so can you find out if anyone can switch roles with Faust?"
"Oh, okay. I'll ask the others and meet back here."
The students hurriedly left.
Elias watched their retreating figures and clicked his tongue.
"They worked so hard, it's a shame."
"Yeah. He'd better come back before it starts. Where did he go?"
"It's strange to be gone for five hours knowing there's a rehearsal. He likes having fun, but he isn't the type to skip out on a role he's taken on, is he?"
I agree with Elias.
From what I remember, he might be a bit noisy, but he isn't irresponsible. If he were, Leo wouldn't have invited him to our group in the first place.
'Something feels off.'
"…Indeed. I'll go talk to the professor."
Leo left, and it wasn't long before the students I saw earlier returned.
They avoided my gaze as they spoke to Elias.
"Elias, where's Leo?"
"He's not back yet. Did you find anyone willing to play Faust?"
"No…. The protagonist has too many lines, so nobody wants to."
"Who did you ask?"
"We asked everyone in the play. Narce said he'd give it a try, but there's nobody willing to switch roles with him, so it's impossible."
"Right, Mephistopheles has a lot of lines too~"
One of the students asked cautiously, "Elias, would you play Mephistopheles? We actually wanted to cast you initially."
"What? Are you insulting me?"
"Oh, no, no! Anyway, Narce took the role in the end!"
"Fine, whatever. If I can just go up there and say anything, I'll do it."
Elias leaned back in his chair with a smirk.
The student, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked, "Have you read Faust?"
"I've read it."
The students exchanged glances.
"Why not improvise…? Wouldn't it be okay?"
"Let's try it. Elias, read the lines as I do."
"I said I read it, not that I know it well. Fine, let's try."
Elias crossed his arms and nodded his head.
The student quickly opened the script and began reading lines.
"I can guess your kind just by hearing your name. That aside, who are you?"
"I am Mephistopheles."
"...."
"Ah…."
"This won't work."
Elias grabbed the armrests and sprang to his feet.
"What?! I answered correctly! What does it say?"
"I am part of the force that always desires evil yet always does good."
Elias blinked at them before speaking.
"…Are you kidding me?"
"...."
"When someone asks who you are, answer like this!"
"But they do it! So you have to memorize it… Ah, no. Improv won't work either. The audience will gather, but it'll turn into chaos as it goes on."
"Should we try having you play Faust?"
The students whispered among themselves. Elias, now visibly competitive, clapped his hands and taunted them.
"Come on! Bring it on, I'll handle it."
"Alright, I'll feed you Mephisto's lines."
The student took a deep breath and spoke.
"You amuse me. I hope we can get along. I'm here in the guise of a young noble to relieve your troubles. Therefore, I advise you to dress like me immediately."
"Pardon? Why should I?"
"...It's not over yet. If you do, you'll be able to experience what life is truly like."
"Huh? Hahaha! Just changing clothes will make worries disappear. Aren't you underestimating life? If that were enough to solve my troubles, I wouldn't be here talking to you."
At that, the students' eyes widened.
"Oh! That was good."
"I cut the lines down to 1/10... but this might work!"
"Right? How do we shorten it? Oh, it'll depend on the next person's sense."
The student with the script held a hand to their forehead and spoke.
"I can solve those troubles for you. I may not be a great being, but if you think of stepping into this world with me, I will gladly obey your wishes."
"...Hmm, really? No take-backs."
Elias smirked with a greedy look on his face.
"...."
"What are you planning to make him do…."
"…You're supposed to play Faust! Faust should hesitate!"
"Ah, don't expect too much from someone who just read it once~"
Elias leaned back with a laugh at the student's rebuke.
The students continued scribbling notes in the script, talking among themselves.
"There are a lot of breaks. Faust should ask what Mephisto wants in return, but Mephisto should avoid talking about the price."
"Can the next person answer immediately without gaps?"
"It'll be hard. The person playing Gretchen isn't the type to handle this. Improv won't work."
The students' faces darkened again.
Elias tapped the table to get their attention.
"Hey, why not. I'll just do it."
"Well, even if someone can follow up, if you do it like that, Faust's lines will be reduced by more than half, leaving too much time…. We can stretch it, but finding places to add lines and having people memorize them in three hours… is not enough."
"I can try to fill the extra time. I'll say whatever I want."
The students exchanged glances, then shook their heads vigorously.
"No, no. If we let you just talk, our class might get disciplined."
Just then, Leo returned.
The students turned away from Elias's gaze and acknowledged Leo.
"Oh, Leo!"
"What's going on? Did you find a replacement?"
"No. The lines are too many to memorize in three hours."
Leo let out a small sigh, as if he expected that, and said,
"Well… The professor said he'd contact other schools. Let's go look for him now."
"What about a replacement?"
"There's no one to take the role, so it can't be helped. The professor said they'll remove his name from the participants' list if he doesn't show up 30 minutes before the start, so we should try to find him by then."
The students fell silent with complex expressions.
One student turned to leave, glanced at me as if to say something, then disappeared at a friend's urging.
Elias clicked his tongue and turned to me.
"Let's just do what we have to do. Want to go spy on Class 1? I'm curious about how boring their rehearsal is."
"That won't get us a stamp. Are you okay with that?"
"Oh, right."
Like Narce, Elias doesn't stand out when he hangs out with me.
Since he's considered unpredictable, there's an advantage to it.
Elias looked around and said,
"So, anything you've been wanting to try?"
"You sound just like Leo."
"Haha! That's because it's your first festival."
I had nothing to say to that.
More than having fun, I was concerned about the missing student on a day like this.
'No matter how I think about it, he isn't just slacking off.'
I have no way of searching for him myself, so I have to wait for the professor and Leo to bring back news.
The sun has set, and it's getting chilly. Even though I'm wearing a winter robe, I can't stop the cold wind from biting my face. I stood up and pointed to the student union building where the rehearsal room was located.
"Forget the stamps. Let's go watch Class 1's play rehearsal as you suggested."
***
The rehearsal room for Class 1 was buzzing with excitement.
I realized that out of fifty students, forty had gathered here to watch the play rehearsal. At the same time, they were gleeful about Class 2's protagonist missing from practice.
"...."
They seem to think he's just slacking off.
They're not considering the possibility of something more sinister at all.
There were less than ten people on stage, but the whole class was hyped up as if it were a big event.
This is likely due to the competition with Class 2.
Elias, who is unaffiliated with either side, walked through the student union hallway with a disinterested expression, glancing at the rehearsal room windows.
A student from Class 1, who had stepped out of the rehearsal room, spotted Elias and shouted.
"Elias! Who are you cheering for?"
"Well? Guess."
"Class 2, right?"
"Not sure, but releasing a new song at a festival isn't right."
"Faust is okay?"
Elias shrugged, seemingly unconvinced.
The Class 1 student exaggerated a frown and teased him.
"By the way, what will Class 2 do without a protagonist~? Is it going to be a Mephistopheles solo act?"
"They'll show up."
"Apparently, there's a first-year who's also been missing for over half a day. Did you know? First-year students in the magic department are asking around if anyone's seen the person."
"Oh, yeah? Really."
Elias brushed off the Class 1 student with a vague answer.
'....'
Is there another person missing?
It's a festival day, and with frequent outings, it could happen… but if they're going out of their way to ask around, it means they found something suspicious too.
Maybe they went out together and got separated, or they said they'd be right back and then vanished.
'They should inform the school, not just look around on their own.'
It's possible they went out freely because it's a festival day, but that also means everyone's guard is down.
"Elias."
"What~?"
"…Never mind."
I hate to say it, but the school wouldn't trust what Elias says.
I can't just grab someone and ask them to report it, so I should find Narce and ask him to inform the school.
Just then, our class vice president came to the student union and started handing out scripts to the Class 2 students.
Elias waved a script and asked the vice president.
"You're giving this out to memorize now?"
"Yes, give it a try."
"There are less than two hours left! I'm telling you, improv is the way to go."
"No, I tried it with the others, and it fell apart in less than ten minutes. It's fine for a few lines, but it doesn't lead to a conclusion as it goes on. There are huge gaps."
Elias seemed to understand and stopped pressing the issue, nodding instead. Improv is difficult without prior practice.
"Oh, right, Lucas."
The vice president looked at me and asked cautiously,
"Did you ever cram for the midterms?"