“You can not go pulling on random girls!” I yelled as I stood in front of the three men who had attempted to ‘kidnap’ the black haired fox girl.

“We are sorry! We were just in a rush. If we do not have two females play the two roles we are missing, we will not be able to put on our show!” The spiky haired man cried out. I could see that the three of them were sorry and also desperate.

“As long as the play is not indecent, I do not mind helping.” I then looked over at the fox haired girl who was still standing around with a confused expression. “What do you think?”

“I…. If you are doing it, I will too….” The fox girl answered. Her cheeks blushed as she lowered her head.

“Then let’s check it out. My name’s Faith, what’s yours?” I was in no way talking to the three men. I was still a little aggravated with them. To be honest, I was hoping I could fluff the tail of the fox girl at some point since it looked very soft. I, of course, knew that this was very rude, so I would never do it unless I asked first. But as someone who also has a tail of her own, it would not be right to ask either. So I can only befriend her and hope she will let me fluff at some point!

The fox girl looked up at me with her big amber colored eyes. “Sophie….” -.

“Then Sophie, let’s go!” I reached out my hand to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand and letting me pull her along. But when I walked past the three men who were still kneeling, I had to stop. “What are you guys doing? Did you not have a play to do?”

“Ahhh! Let’s go!” The three men quickly got up and lead the way.

Come to find out, while the place we were just in was indeed an alley, the location of the play was actually at a large dugout theater. The whole place was dug out of the ground, and stone was laid out in a stadium seating fashion, looking down at the main open stage. The play could be seen from all sides. It was really neat. And even more surprising was that the place was packed. But I guess this was normal as there was no tv here. This made me think of maybe creating a magic that can be inscribed into runes and used like the magic washing machine or oven. You would just need to send magic with images in them across some lines that lead to the back of the tv set. And by changing the dial on the tv, you could switch the channel.

My mighty little brain was working. I couldn’t help but stroke my chin as I pulled Sophie along. We reached the stage in no time and were quickly briefed on what we had to do.

“You guys are back!” An older woman with ratty clothes on came running over. I guess she was also one of the actors. “Are these the girls?”

“Yeah, we kind of got too excited and almost lost Miss Sophie here. She fits the part of Abigail perfectly.” The spiky haired young man replied.

But seeing how Sophie was getting all the attention, I couldn’t help but feel slightly left out. But I guess I was just the side dish to fill in the other role. I wonder which role I will be…. Maybe a tree? A rock? I looked around but did not see any actors playing props. Do they not do that anymore?

“And this girl is the evil demon queen?” I suddenly heard the older woman ask, which caused me to freeze. Demon queen? Why am I suddenly being told to become a villain!? Why not a princess!?

“Yes, she is perfect for that part. She even already has the horns, and the way she threatened us made me realize she was perfect for the part.” I almost choked on air. How was this even fair!? Did I really look like some demon queen!?

To be honest, I am not sure what I think about this. I thought I looked pretty cute! I even double checked before leaving the house. Annie and the girls did an amazing job but now…. But now I am some kind of Demon Queen. I have so many complaints. “We will need to get these girls ready. Sue, take these girls to the dressing room and get them dolled up.” The old woman yelled out, and before I knew it, I was being dragged away.

Sue, the girl who was doing our costumes and makeup, was very skilled. In less than thirty minutes, we were ready, and I have to say. I looked very evil! I couldn’t help but pout because when I saw Sophie, she looked like a princess. Why was I the evil witch that could while Sophie was the…. Never mind, I know why.

“Here are your scripts. You do not have much time so try to remember as much as possible. Maggie will be on the side using whisper magic to help you out. All I can say is do your best and thank you for coming to our aid.” The older woman that I still do not know the name of left right after saying this.

I looked down at the script and read the title. “The one who got away…..” I tilted my head to the side and opened the script up. “So this is about a princess who falls in love with the demon queen…. Wait! That is a love story between two girls!?”

I pursed my lips. All in all, it was not a bad storyline. The princess was saved by the young demon queen when the demon queen was dressed as a man. After many tit for tats of the princess pursuing the demon queen as she tries to run away, the princess finally discovers that the man she had been chasing all this time was actually a girl and the demon queen who was bent on destroying her kingdom. “Story is fine, gender bender and a one sided romance. The demon queen never actually returns the princess’s love.”

I can see why this story would be kind of popular. It was rather engaging. “Sophie, how are you? Will you be okay? Hmmm? Sophie!? Hey! Earth to Sophie!”

“Huh!?” Sophie broke out of her trance like state and turned her head towards me as if she was some kind of mechanical doll. From her pale face and lips that were turning blue, I think our princess will not be okay at all. I reached over and placed my hand on her head: “Heating.” I let a warm current permeate through her body, causing her to slowly relax.

“Feel better?” I saw that her tension seemed to relax a bit.

“Yes, thank you…. I am not good with crowds. I thought if I was with you that maybe just maybe, I could use this chance to get over my fear of crowds, but it seems that it might be too much for me. What should I do? I am not even able to stand up. My legs are mush.” I sighed and knelt down next to her and reached out and took her hands.

“I will be right there next to you, so just focus on me. Tune out everyone else around you and only focus on me. If you begin to panic, I will cover for you. A play is amazing because if things do not go as planned, as long as you get to the same outcome, it will be fine. To be honest, I am nervous myself, but I still think it will be fun. Even though I am the demon queen….” I guess my last words tickled Sophie a bit because she finally smiled even though it was faint.

I guess her inability to really communicate or socialize well with others is why she was so easily taken away, then her scream early was probably all she could muster up at that time. But that is fine. I will do what I can to assist her. Luckily I have already memorized all my lines. The perk of having a system. Instant photographic memory!

Luckily the script was well structured, with every name on it next to their lines and how they should act at that point. “Just try to remember as much as you can. I will be there by your side.”

“I will do my best….” Sophie seemed to have a bit of fight growing inside her. I just hoped it would last until we got on stage. I am no master of the acting arts, so…. Wait… I can be a partial master! Let’s see here… Hmmm? Acting only has one point level to it for it to be mastered? I guess it is really not that useful of a skill, but if used correctly, it will definitely come in handy in the future if not used on the stage. I don’t plan to set foot on another stage after this anyway, so having a maxed out skill with only one level was not bad.

[Acting (LVL 1(MAX))]