An Unexpected Stage
The Elemental Art Hall Center's Grand Theater. This venue, the largest indoor performance space in the capital of Raymond, was bustling with people milling around the entrance despite it being a weekend. The crowd was mostly young, with a roughly even split between men and women. They clustered together in pairs or groups—lovers or friends—every face lit up with the same bright, expectant smile.
'Why the hell am I here?'
Everyone except for one person. Kain, who was being dragged along by Arina's hand with a reluctant shuffle.
His usual thick horn-rimmed glasses. A baggy white short-sleeved t-shirt with a stretched-out neckline. Wrinkled black sweatpants that looked like he'd slept in them the night before, paired with a pair of slippers he was half-dragging. His entire appearance screamed stereotypical shut-in, through and through.
In stark contrast to Arina, who walked ahead of him with energetic steps while holding his hand, her outfit carefully chosen. Or rather, even without comparing him to her, Kain's clothes stood out painfully against the stylish, well-dressed young men and women around them. Maybe that was why he could feel the occasional sidelong glances from the crowd.
"Haaam."
At first, people stared because of his bizarre outfit. Then, after catching a glimpse of his yawning face, the women would blush and quickly look away. That, in turn, earned him hostile glares from the men standing beside them.
But Kain didn't seem to care about any of it. He simply looked down at Arina with an annoyed expression, as if the whole thing was beneath his notice.
"Why'd we come out so early? Didn't you say the concert starts at six-thirty?"
The current time was just past three-fifteen. Even if early entry began around five, this was still way too soon.
"It's because of you. I couldn't even charge my smartphone and just left the house."
"How is that my fault?"
At his grumbling, Arina turned around with an incredulous look on her face.
"It's because you fell asleep in the study again last night and forgot to charge it."
"And who was the one who woke up a perfectly sleeping person and dragged them outside against their will?"
Kain's full-on shut-in look wasn't just a fashion choice. It was because he'd been yanked out of bed before he could properly wake up or get ready. Still half-asleep and groggy, he'd been hauled to a nearby ramen shop, where he ate ramen with gyoza dumplings to regain his senses. By the time he came to, they were somehow already at the main entrance of the Elemental Art Hall Center.
From Kain's perspective—being dragged along by Arina like this—the whole situation was utterly ridiculous.
"It's fine. I expected this from the start. I figured Uncle would forget the promise you made with me, stay up reading until dawn, and end up sleeping in late anyway."
"......"
"It's nice going around with you, Uncle. I don't really mind what you wear."
"......"
Well, I don't particularly care what I wear when I'm out with you either. So why is the conversation suddenly turning into you being considerate of me? Is this some kind of signal for me to praise you for having strong patience?
Her ability to completely ignore his complaints and smoothly change the subject was nothing short of genius. Kain briefly considered protesting that wasn't what he'd been complaining about, but in the end, he just let out a long, defeated sigh.
If this were the old days, he would've shaken off the little brat's hand that was dragging him along. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it now. Because he knew that if he did, the little brat in front of him would start tearing up.
'So why did we really come this early?'
Were they supposed to sit in a cafe and wait until it was time? If they were just going to kill time like that, wouldn't it have been better to leave the house later? He could've charged his phone, too.
'I can't even use the internet.'
This was the worst. Being stuck in a cafe without a smartphone. Did that mean he really had to just sit there sipping a drink and spacing out? Just thinking about the boring waste of time made Kain's brow furrow deeply behind his thick glasses.
"I told Marily that I like Layla Ruby, so she arranged a meeting for us."
Fortunately, Kain's worst assumptions seemed to miss the mark. As Arina continued pulling him through the crowd and deeper into the building, her answer made him nod quietly.
'Come to think of it, she said she was royalty, didn't she?'
She must have used her influence for her friend's sake. And because of that friend's thoughtfulness, he'd been dragged out of the house ridiculously early. If that royal pain showed up in front of him right now, he felt a sudden urge to give her a good flick on the forehead, royalty or not.
"She said if we come before rehearsal, we should be able to meet since she told them in advance."
"I see."
Was it because she was about to meet the diva of this era, Layla Ruby, in person and actually talk to her? Arina's face was unusually flushed with excitement. She was so worked up that even through his keen senses, he could feel her racing heartbeat pulsing through her hand into his fingertips.
"Hello. How may I assist you?"
They arrived at the information desk. Only then did Arina finally let go of Kain's hand and give a small bow.
"Yes, hello."
She pulled out her smartphone from the bag slung over her shoulder and showed the message Marily had sent her beforehand.
"Um, they said showing this would be enough."
Arina carefully handed over the phone with a hesitant tone. The staff member tilted their head in slight confusion at first, but after reading the message, they let out a small gasp of understanding.
"I see. Could you wait just a moment? I'll check right away."
The staff picked up the work phone and called somewhere. After speaking in a low voice for a while, they hung up with a smile and turned back to Arina.
"Could you wait just a little longer? Someone will be down shortly."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you."
Arina bowed politely in thanks.
"......"
While she was unconsciously humming a little tune, Kain remained silent, his expression blank as he glanced up at the ceiling. The high ceiling displayed grandeur and splendor with its red base and gold threading. At its peak hung an ornate, picture-like chandelier. It was so beautiful that if he had his smartphone, he'd want to snap a photo immediately. In fact, many people inside the building were busy taking pictures of the ceiling and interior.
But Kain's attention wasn't on the visually striking design. It was on what lay beyond—above the ceiling. For some reason, ever since entering the building, his gaze kept being drawn to the lingering traces of mana he could sense.
It wasn't just the presence or absence of mages or martial artists. The residual mana scattered in the air felt like a battle had taken place.
'Why here, of all places?'
He felt a momentary surge of curiosity about checking it out, but it quickly subsided. Instead of the staff member who said someone would come down, a man came running toward them from behind—not from the elevator or stairs, but from the building's entrance—panting heavily.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
The man was sweating and breathing hard, as if he'd run quite a distance. The plastic bag in his hand suggested he'd just come back from a nearby convenience store, filled with drinks and some light snacks.
"I'm Kyun, Layla Ruby's manager."
Setting aside the staff member from earlier, the man who introduced himself as Kyun had a bear-like, honest face that matched his seemingly good-natured personality. He looked straight into Arina's young eyes and greeted her with proper courtesy.
"Hello. I'm Arina."
Arina returned the greeting with a slightly stiff bow. Kyun smiled warmly, as if finding her adorable, then shifted his gaze to Kain.
"This is my uncle."
Anticipating that a proper greeting might not happen given Kain's perpetually dissatisfied and curt expression, Arina introduced him first.
"......Kain."
Kain's eyes left Kyun and fixed back on the ceiling. It was an incredibly rude attitude from their very first meeting. Arina nervously pinched the back of her uncle's hand while gauging Kyun's reaction.
"Then, Sir Kain and Lady Arina, please follow me."
But Kyun just scratched the back of his head awkwardly, showing no sign of anger. He simply led the way, guiding them somewhere.
The place he headed to was the elevator that went straight up to the waiting rooms. He showed the guards the ID badge hanging around his neck and spoke to the two people trailing behind him.
"I heard Layla would have guests, so I told the information desk in advance. If anyone came looking, they should call me."
I didn't expect you'd show up right when I was running an errand out front, though. I couldn't exactly ask the private security to greet guests either.
"Still, it's a relief I made it back in time. That was almost a disaster."
Kyun let out a hearty laugh as he took back the ID from the guard. As they boarded the elevator with its open doors, he continued.
"I sent Layla a text on the way. I tried calling too, but she didn't pick up—probably resting."
Still, just in case, I'll go in first and check on her. Kyun smiled carefully as he asked for their understanding.
"Yes, that's fine. I'm more worried that I'm taking up time when she needs to prepare for the concert."
"It should be okay. It's pretty common for her to meet close acquaintances before a concert. And she's not the type to dislike meeting fans who like her."
If anything, given Layla's personality, meeting this young girl would probably make her happy and give her even more energy for the performance.
Knock, knock.
After getting off the elevator and passing through the security, Kyun knocked on the door to Layla's waiting room.
"Noona. I'm here. Could you open the door?"
Noona? Layla Ruby looks much younger than him. Arina tilted her head at the strange disconnect.
Separately from that, Kain merely moved his eyes slightly, lightly scanning the surroundings. It wasn't ironclad security, but it was quite strict. It showed just how important the agency considered the singer Layla Ruby to be.
Even in this situation, though, the strange sensation he'd felt earlier hadn't disappeared at all. If anything, it had grown stronger. The residual mana that flowed out when someone manifested their magic. It was coming from inside the waiting room of the singer named Layla Ruby, where Kyun was knocking.
'So she was a mage?'
But he'd never heard that Layla Ruby was a mage. Then again, if it weren't for Arina, he wouldn't have even known the person existed, so it wasn't strange that he hadn't known Layla Ruby was a mage.
"Noona, are you sleeping? I'm coming in?"
Kyun said as he turned the doorknob. He slowly opened the door so Arina and Kain behind him couldn't see inside right away, then poked his head in.
"Noona?"
Kyun called out to Layla Ruby carefully. But then his face turned deathly pale, and he flung the waiting room door wide open.
"Noona!"
Only then did the scene inside come into view for the two of them.
Chairs and supplies were scattered everywhere as if a typhoon had swept through. The mirror on the wall had fallen and shattered into pieces on the floor, and the curtains were torn to shreds, hanging limply. Wind blew in through the wide-open window. As the faint traces of mana rode that breeze and reached his nose, Kain adjusted his glasses slightly.
'Pretty high level.'
There were traces of various spells. Basic sound-blocking magic, along with signs of mana discharge. At Kain's level, he could roughly gauge the opponent's strength just from the remnants. At minimum a 4-star, possibly a mage who had just entered 5-star.
Unlike the black mage who'd recently acquired the magic Kain himself had created and gone on a rampage at the Grant Department Store, this was a mage with real skill.
Layla Ruby had been kidnapped by that being.
From behind Kyun, whose face had gone completely white and who clearly had no idea what to do, a spark of interest finally appeared on Kain's face—which until now had only shown boredom.