Walking through the streets of Marigold City, Kenzo held both of his hands inside his pocket as he whistled a song he had stuck inside his head. Throughout his life, the blue haired swordsman had realized that most people preferred to hum or sing songs in these kinds of situations. However, he had never felt the need to do that. On the contrary though, he was definitely an avid whistler, something that became particularly peculiar to most unfamiliar with the Bellan mercenary. Either way, it was not like anybody cared while the Advent World warrior crossed the streets of the peaceful and relaxing Marigold. He had arrived at town a couple of days ago, and he’d never spent his days more peacefully than this. The male had no other choice but to agree with the stereotypes that most people had about the southern city. It was definitely a spot far removed from any sense of urgency and movement, the perfect place where you could go to hide yourself and spend some days of calm. That was exactly what he was doing too. For now, the plan Noel and himself had devised to stay a bit under the radar was going quite well. Sure, there had been a couple of instances where other people recognized them and gave place for a few interesting interactions, but nothing to extreme at all.

It was one of these interactions that had motivated Kenzo to get out of the bed early and walk towards the destination he had in mind. Last night he had spent a couple of hours by the Marigold Theater house to see a play. It would seem that rumors of his reputation had reached the director, since he had decided to invite him for a conversation after the play was finished.

[300/1500] 25% WC Reduction from Guild Level

Intrigued by his proposal, Kenzo agreed to meet at one of the backstage offices. While the public started to leave slowly the main hall, the merc had been escorted by an employee through a door at the front of the big room. The actors who he’d just seen converted into princesses, princes, and villains where now all happily congregated and speaking with each other. Passing along a couple of glasses of wine and champagne, a young-looking man with a well-cared for moustache directed the celebratory toast. From what Kenzo could gather, the man seemed to be the director of the whole play. He had to give it to him, the quality of the play had been quite unexpected for a place so far away from the capital. However, it seemed that the man had some talent. Upon noticing his assistant leading Kenzo to the backstage zone, the male quickly took a sip from his drink as he motioned towards the rest of the actors. ”Great job today everyone. Please keep celebrating, I’ll have to excuse myself for a moment.” The male took a look towards Kenzo as he wiped the small traces of liquid left on his beard. Passing the emptied glass to a waiter right next to him, the male made a signal to his assistant for them to follow him. After nodding with a smile at the director, Kenzo followed the woman into a door at the end of the backstage area.

Kenzo crossed the door to find a well-lit room with a wall littered in pictures and fancy looking plaques. Normally, it would have taken him a long while to examine everything. However, the mysterious ability of his right eye allowed him to process everything in a single instant. ”Welcome Mr. Kenzo Valens! Please, take a seat”

[600/1500] 25% WC Reduction from Guild Level

The director pointed with his open palm at the empty chair right in front of his desk. Kenzo simply followed suit and took a seat. ”Congratulations on the play. Quite better than what I expected from a place like Marigold.” He said. Even if the words came out of his mouth, the male had managed to notice that all of the plaques and pictures on the wall spoke of a long tradition of critically acclaimed plays and shows that had taken place within the city. Unbeknownst to him, it would seem that Marigold was quite more than just a relaxing place for an escapade, a capital of culture for Fiore. However, he had also noticed something. Even if in the wall were hung dozens upon dozens of prizes and commemorative golden and silver plaques, most of them dated of many years prior. From what he could see, the latest one had been awarded at least 4 years ago.

Noticing the expression on Kenzo’s face, the director simply sighed as he nodded in appreciation to the congratulatory words. [color=yellow]”You should have seem this place a couple of years ago. It was the center of culture and fine arts of Fiore. The king, nobles and royals alike wrestled to obtain tickets for the best plays offered by the theater. Yet, you can notice the state of the place today. A sad nostalgic smile painted the young director’s face. ”The place has been torn down in order to cover debts and other expenses. Nowadays, what once used to be the greatest stage in Fiore has been reduced to a place that mostly offers trashy stand up comedies.” Kenzo crossed his arms as he placed a hand on his chin. ”What happened?”

The male rose his chin before answering. ”As always, fights for money”

[900/1500] 25% WC Reduction from Guild Level

Kenzo’s interest was piqued upon hearing the answer. Taking a small pause, the male continued with his explanation. ”Being a place where it was almost impossible to get tickets for, you can imagine the kind of money that flowed through the theater. Yet, one of the co-owners of the place got greedy and decided to screw my father over. Taking all of the theater’s funds to other places like Hosenka and Crocus, the Marigold theater was left in shambles. All of the respectable directors flocked instantly to where the money was. Bunch of spineless cowards the lot.” The mercenary left out a slight chuckle of air after hearing the reason. He had seen the exact thing happen many times before. No matter what one dedicated his life to, complete legacies were destroyed by the greed of the few. ”Either way, the past is the past.” finished the man as he threw himself back in his chair and took out a cigar from one of the drawers of the desk.

”Surely you did not invite me here to tell me about your sad story am I right?” asked Kenzo after refusing a smoke. Puffing out smoke from the brown cigar, the male smiled. ”Absolutely correct.” He answered as he placed it over the desk and ash tray. ”It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Valens. Your reputation precedes you more than what you might think. You’ve heard my story of the past. However, to tell the story planned for the future I will need the services of a man just like yourself.” A darker smile filled his face as his eyes were lit with passion. ”Hoh… Count me interested.” Offering his hand for a handshake, the young director finally introduced himself. ”Christopher Nolsten, at your service”

”Tell me about it.”

[1200/1500] 25% WC Reduction from Guild Level

After a long talk, Kenzo came to learn that the young director had decided to return the Marigold theater to his glory days. However, things were easier said than done. Even after cheating him and his father, the previous co-owner had gone to extreme lengths to ensure the days of theater were always filled with misery. Part of the huge profits from the plays at the new theaters of Hosenka and Crocus were destined to paid thugs and robbers to sabotage any efforts to revive the place. After agreeing on an interesting sum of money, the mercenary had agreed to take care of the bad guys and ensure that the high-quality plays of Christopher could receive the starlight during show days. Kenzo had spent some bored days at town now, so agreeing to such an offer was a no-brainer. Furthermore, some of the actresses he had seen that day were definitely a factor for his decision. It was the duty of a gentlemen to help such beauties when in need, right?

As he arrived at the theater the next day, the blue haired swordsman was ready for his first day of work. After greeting Christopher, Kenzo was shown around by security. Taking a mental note of all the possible exits and places of interest, the male was ready in case of an emergency. As he did that, the chaos of the preparations for that night’s show created quite a hectic environment. Last minute rehearsals, costume and prop details, the usual stuff. As he passed through the place where everything was kept, Kenzo saw two figures at the back side of the theater with the white eye of Dhan-Galhoul. Across the wall, a pair of people left a backpack behind the theater before instantly running away. It didn’t take a single second for Kenzo to understand what was going on. Springing towards the outer part of the theater, the male quickly arrived to where the backpack was placed and grabbed it with his sheathed sword. In a single motion, he threw it away towards the empty plot of land next to the theater just in time so that the explosion coming out of the bag missed the building’s structure. There was definitely someone trying to sabotage the play.

-EXIT-

[1577/1500] 25% WC Reduction from Guild Level