Chapter 2

But all the performances from here on are going to gradually get happier, right?

Oh yeah, I was surprised when I heard the setup too. You’re playing this Romeo and Juliet/Reversi like a time loop? It’s almost like a game ♪

Yes. Across ten days, across the ten performances… Each day, each show, will repeat the story of Romeo and Juliet.

That said, the two members of the chorus alone retain their memories, as they are the only ones who can pass through the door into the past. And thus they will change their actions slightly as they learn from the past.

So that they will not repeat the tragedy of the first performance…

They will do all they can to intervene in the story so as to create a happy ending for Romeo and Juliet.

Yeah. Like today, the reason Juliet acted so violently was because of Tenma-kun’s careless remarks.

She knew it would end in tragedy, so to avoid that she tried to hide her love for Romeo.

But in turn, that triggered an even worse ending.

So from then on, Tenma-kun will try to avoid slipping up like that.

This time, he had loose lips because he’d tasted alcohol at the ball and was drowsy from being woken up.

So next time, he’ll avoid swiping food and drink from the ball.

Then, when Juliet falls in love with Romeo at first sight, she won’t hide it.

But Romeo is still a girl in this play, so there’s still a point of tension regarding the sexuality of the Capulet’s daughter.

Just like that, the story beats are determined by the actions of the chorus.

That’s how time loops work. The player’s actions and choices change the outcome… So it’d be even cooler if you watch all ten shows ♪

But are there even that many people who can take ten whole days to watch all ten shows?

Doesn’t this end up as a show where you have to watch the previous episode to know what’s going on?

We have, of course, taken that into consideration. The full story is told within a single performance, no matter which of the ten days you watch.

And as a supplement to it all, the audience also receives a free playbill that details each day from beginning to end.

Or if you want, you can download it digitally. That was my job.

Apparently there’s already a lot of talk online about a theater company doing something totally crazy.

We aren’t a company, though. We would still be classified as nothing more than amateur performers.

However in this day and age, no one will spare us a passing glance if we only don’t aim for beyond the stars…

And so I added a little special touch. Only God can say whether it will end in fortune or tragedy.

Urghh. It’s so hard because all ten performances have slightly different content. And even the chorus is loaded down with lines…

It’s like we’re performing in ten different plays at the same time.

Fufufu. You’ll be in many plays from here on out, so it’s better to jump right into things, don’t you think?

By the way, Romeo and Juliet/Reversi was actually a collection written by a number of authors around the theme of Romeo and Juliet.

It’s an anthology of short stories, essentially.

And a delegate of those writers wove all of those stories together in order to construct one single plotline.

The former members of our drama club are the ones who turned that anthology back into a script for the stage.

So that’s why it was on the bookshelves in the drama room… I didn’t know it was an original work. Did you get permission to use it from the copyright holders?

I did indeed! I would never make a blunder in that regard. It’s the work of a teacher in the theater course, one who is currently working as an author…

I obtained the rights from them.

The teacher took great care of me when I was but a first year student here… and when I told them I would perform this play, they were overjoyed.

For the record, if you are to be an actor, you must first know what it is like to be a playwright.

Actually, in addition to the anthology of short stories, there are also a stories included in the script that was thought up by the former club members.

Most of the stories in the original anthology were of different genres, and a good majority of them were too fantastical to be adapted for the stage.

So to fill the gaps left behind, the club members wrote their own original stories.

Until just recently, it was a tradition for the drama club; we had nearly a hundred different scripts on our shelves.

Fufufu, as a matter of fact, even I wrote one of them… And wouldn’t you know it, we’re even performing it during one of our shows!

It’s so embarrassing to perform something I wrote myself, though—It’s like the ultimate monologue.

It feels rather hollow and meaningless, honestly. I would much rather dance within the dreams someone else created.

Huh? What day? No seriously, I don’t get it—They’re all so serious, I can’t even imagine you writing any of them.

…It was probably the tenth. The final one.

Amazing! That’s correct! How could you possibly have figured it out, Hokuto-kun?

Hmph, don’t make light of me. Of course I would.

Romeo and Juliet are at their happiest in the last one. And that’s because Romeo and Juliet isn’t a tragedy, right Buchou?

I’m sure those two lovers are off somewhere in heaven, smiling and holding each other close right about now.

And that they’re telling you thanks for understanding them…

They’re happy that you didn’t pity them or mock their love.

I am too, Buchou. If my understanding serves me… then it’s just like what you said. It isn’t a tragedy at all.