Moonlight Demon - Chapter 284: Interlude 4 - Kaori, The Actress, Part 1

Note: Hello! Hope you’re all having a great day. Anyway, as I said in the epilogue, I’m going to continue one of the interludes from before, but I want you all to pick which one. So, to give some time for that to happen, we will be doing this interlude for now. 

This interlude is also an option. If you feel like you want me to just focus on this interlude, and do more chapters for it, you can also tell me that.

As with the others, these interludes are not canon, and they have nothing to do with the main story, outside of possibly showing off the world a little. As such, if you are reading this in the future, feel free to skip these entirely if you are not interested.

With that out of the way, enjoy!

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Kaori

The Valley of Lanterns was surprisingly busy this afternoon. As many different citizens moved through the street, buying and selling things, greeting each other as some went to other parts of Jade and some hopped on top of different carts standing by, Kaori tried her hardest to keep herself from squeaking with how excited she was.

“Aaaah!” She couldn’t help but let out, drumming on her thighs as she sat next to her acting troupe, on a random bench in the shade, waiting for their ride to arrive.

“Hehe, calm yourself,” her mentor said, from her side. Kaori turned to her left, and Yumi’s bright silver eyes kindly looked back at her. “We’ll be in Pearl in no time.”

When Kaori first realized that this was what she’d wanted to do with her life, she had trouble finding people to partner up with. The first person she found, however, who accepted her proposal to start a troupe was Yumi. It had been strange to her, how a Zayama could ditch the life of a warrior and trade it in for the life of an actress, but she was glad the woman did. Yumi, and her disgustingly large sack of crowns, had single-handedly carried them through the first year of this journey.

“I can’t wait!” Kaori replied, standing up and stretching out her arms. “Pearl’s like the art center of the world! We’re finally going to do a play there, this is amazing!”

“The coordinating is going to be a nightmare, though,” Sinneah, one of the group’s main actresses added. The strong, well-built woman was sitting with her legs crossed and her tan-skinned arms behind her head, as she rested it on the wall behind the bench. Due to her large frame and slightly deep voice, oftentimes Sinneah would take the role of male characters when they performed, usually portraying knights and mercenaries.

“Isn’t it done already?” Kaori asked.

“Sure, but different groups always try to claim the Lily Theatre at the last minute. We’re probably going to have to fight a few of them off.”

“Well,” Kaori leaned down in front of her. “With you by our side, that should be easy.”

Because what audiences loved more than anything was a good romance story, and Kaori herself often played the protagonist in these, the two of them had shared more than a few passionate kisses in front of small crowds at this point. They were quite comfortable with each other, by now.

“Ugh, you can save the flirting for when we get there,” Vermia, the last member of the troupe, stated. “The scenery might actually fit.”

When the troupe was first formed, it consisted of just Kaori, Sinneah, and Yumi, however, they quickly ran into a problem. Although Yumi could sometimes play the role of the villain, there was a natural kindness to her that made it difficult for the audiences to buy into her performance. So, a short while after they’d gotten started, they put out a job opening here in Jade for an actress who looked mean.

Vermia was the first person who showed up, and Kaori instantly knew she was the one.

“Wasn’t the carriage supposed to arrive already?” Vermia asked. “Did you get the date wrong?” Vermia asked Yumi.

“No, I did not,” Yumi sighed, and Kaori just hoped the two wouldn’t start bickering like they usually did. “November 20, 1:00pm, the Valley of Lanterns. That was the time and place I and the coachman agreed upon.”

“Then you should have hired someone more competent.”

“Yes, I’m sure you would have been able to find someone far more responsible.”

“I would have,” Vermia asserted. “And if they didn’t show up, I’d track them down and flay them alive.”

“Careful, you say that often enough that I might start believing you.”

As the two of them (thankfully) settled down, Kaori too started inspecting the nearby alleys, and the corners of the streets to her right and left. It was almost halfway to 2 at this point.

Just when she was beginning to grow worried that they’d been pranked or something, she heard wheels rolling along the left, and as she turned to find the source, her grin returned.

A carriage being pulled by four horses, with enough seats to fit maybe 12 people inside, slowly rolled up to the gate.

“Alright, he’s arrived, finally,” Yumi stated, standing up. “Come on, everyone. It’ll be a couple of days before we get to Pearl, we don’t want to make that time any longer.”

“Right,” Kaori quickly moved after her, but her pace slowed when she saw the guards sitting inside the carriage. Two of them, in particular, stood out from the rest.

Two women, wearing golden armor and carrying cubes of the same color on their belts, followed the other guards out of the carriage as the actresses walked up. Kaori felt like she’d seen people dressed like this maybe a handful of times in the entirety of the 20 years she’d been alive.

One of them was a girl with violet eyes, a pair of horns, white hair, and a scowl that was seemingly stuck to her face, the other was a dark-skinned woman with crimson hair and a kind smile.

“… seriously couldn’t have let us know in advance?” The half-demon asked.

“Just be glad we’re getting to travel a bit. It’s been a while since we’ve been outside the barracks,” the crimson-haired woman replied. “Oh, you must be the actresses!”

With a smile, she all but dragged the other woman with her, as they stood in front of Kaori and her troupe. Yumi walked up and bowed.

“Are you to be our guards for the occasion?” Yumi tilted her head. “I’m sorry, but I only paid for-”

“Don’t worry,” the woman quickly cut her off. “The Council’s paying for our involvement. You’re okay.”

“The Council?” Kaori echoed, walking forward. “As in, the Royal Council?”

Who are these people?  Kaori asked herself, as she went to check their levels.

She saw “Level 21, MP: 200/200” displayed over the white-haired girl’s head, and “Level 30, MP: 400/400″ displayed over the other girl.”

When she noticed that, she gawked.

“Yes,” the woman replied. “My name’s Kasumi, and this is Ash. We’re Saviors.”

“Saviors?” Yumi asked, stepping forward.

Kaori, however, was still reeling from that realization. These two, who at least to her eyes looked fairly young, had the levels of experienced veterans.

“Why were Saviors assigned to us?” Vermia stepped forward as well. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh, I suppose it depends on how you look at it, but, to put it simply, the Council suspects that there are demons on the road. After your coachman registered your trip with them, we were assigned to keep you safe, as a mission.

Right, Kaori thought. Saviors go on missions, and stuff. Killing demons all over the world! 

She was as impressed by them, as she was scared of what Kasumi had just said.

Apparently, there were demons on the way to Pearl. That alone was reason enough to reconsider this journey.

“Um, should we just stay here?” Kaori asked, looking over at Yumi.

“Pfft. What, you don’t think we’re up for the job?”

The girl who’d spoken was the half-demon. She’d been very quiet so far, so Kaori hadn’t seen it coming, but she had spoken directly to her, aiming a smirk her way.

“N-No,” Kaori waved her hands. “I’m just…”

“Ehm, I suppose that if we have a pair of professional demon killers with us, this won’t be a problem?” Yumi asked Kasumi.

“We will do our very best, ma’am. You have our word on that.”

“Then, in that case, I vote we just go with them,” Yumi said, turning toward the other girls. “This would be the biggest play we’ve ever done. And, if there are demons on the road, they might not clear up anytime soon. It’s a great opportunity that we have here, to go with these fine women,” she smiled back at them politely.

“Hm… I guess,” Vermia shrugged. “As long as they keep demons from tearing my neck out with their teeth, I’m fine with it.”

“Mhm,” Sinneah crossed her arms. “I think the faster we get through this, the better.”

“Ah, then it’s settled?” Kasumi asked, glancing at Kaori.

That smirk on the half-demon hadn’t faded. As she was asked this question, Kaori looked back at those violet eyes. They were fairly captivating.

“Sure,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem, it’s our job. Okay, everyone,” Kasumi gestured at the guards waiting in the background.. Kaori had forgotten they were there. “Let’s get going!”