Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
✦ ✦ ✦
The speech concluded smoothly, and the crowd erupted in applause.
I let out a sigh of relief as I joined in on the clapping, but when I glanced to my side…
Oh…?
…Kyouya, who’d been standing next to me, looked on with sadness. His eyes followed Kotone as she moved off the stage.
I wonder why he’s so sad…?
Just as my mind started to wander, he snapped out of it and looked straight at me this time.
Whoops. Feels like I was peeking at something I shouldn’t have.
But he simply smiled as if nothing had happened.
Maybe I’m just overthinking things…?
As I thought this, though, the lights went out once more.
“What is it this time?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd.
What is it?! Is it Fantasista?!
Just as I rushed to search for Kotone…
…the lights flashed back on.
It was so bright that I had to squint to see anything, but when I could finally make out my surroundings, I realized the spotlight was shining straight down on me!
Huh? What the—?!
When this happened, Kyouya, who was standing next to me, grinned before raising his hand above his head.
Uh…huh?
A black silk hat flew through the air to his hand, and he produced a short magic wand from inside it.
Wait? Huh? What’s happening?!
With a melodramatic flair, he flicked the wand, and…
Pop!
…a small, cute noise rang out, and in his hand, he held a big bouquet of red roses.
“What?! Where did that come from?!”
“For a lovely lady such as yourself.” Kyouya got down on one knee and respectfully held up the bouquet for me.
It was a gesture only he could pull off.
“Uh, thank you…”
Without really thinking about it, I accepted the bouquet, and as soon as I did, the audience erupted with roaring applause.
O-oh right! I forgot we had a spotlight on us!
With that, the lights went out again. This time, there was only a brief moment of complete darkness before the stage lit up once more.
“N-no way…!”
And on the stage was Kyouya.
But he was just right next to me! There’s gotta be almost a hundred feet from here to the stage. How’d he do that?!
Wearing his silk hat and holding his magic wand, Kyouya smiled.
Almost immediately after, the microphone rang out with an announcement.
“We have a surprise for you tonight! Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the genius magician who’s taken Europe and the Americas by storm—Kyouya!”
I could hear a few women in the audience reacting to the performance.
“Did he say Kyouya?!”
“I had a friend whose wife went to one of his shows in France, and she said his performance was a sight to see.”
“He doesn’t usually perform in Japan, though. We’re lucky to get to watch him tonight.”
The wealthy women were all excited about the sudden news.
Kyouya gave a deep bow to the enthusiastic crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Flower Song. And allow me to make this a night you will never forget.”
He snapped his fingers, and in the next instant, something began to flutter down from above.
Those are flower petals! And he’s filling the venue with them.
“It looks like rain today. But a little flower rain never hurt nobody.”
Wow! It’s so pretty!
“And the sun always shines most after the rain. Let’s add some sunlight.” Kyouya whipped his right hand once before producing a crystal ball the size of a bowling ball, which he held out in one hand. “This little sun of mine, I will send it to you to shine.”
He flipped his hand over, dropping the ball under it. Naturally, the ball fell to the ground…or not? No, it was floating!
“All right, sun—can you shine bright for me today?”
The ball seemed to listen to Kyouya, as if it had a mind of its own. We all stared as it flew up to the ceiling.
How’s it doing that?!
“Hmm, maybe this sun is a bit too small to brighten up everyone’s day.” Kyouya tilted his head before producing a second ball. “Here, let’s have this one help.”
This new ball flew toward the center of the venue at an impressive speed.
Wait. They’re gonna crash into each other?!
Boom!
A loud sound rang out. The audience members reacted with shouts, covering their heads from the debris, but nothing came falling down.
We all looked up to see that the two balls had grown into one large crystal ball.
And inside it…
“Is that a sunflower?”
“It is, indeed. The flower that blossoms toward the sun. Perfect, if I do say so myself. With a sun this big, it should brighten up the room,” Kyouya said, before snapping his fingers once more, causing the crystal ball to begin to shine.
“Wow!”
The crowd cheered.
Boom!
There was another noise, and something began to spread out. No one hid for cover this time, though.
What came fluttering down was…yellow flower petals.
The whole event hall was like a fantasy world filled with flowers.
“Woooooow!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
✦ ✦ ✦
The venue burst into cheers and applause. Everyone was really worked up now.
After a brief pause for the applause, the stage went black once more, but this time, the rest of the venue lit up.
“That was incredible!” Yuzuki exclaimed with excitement, and hearing her voice brought me back to reality. I realized I’d been clutching my hands the whole time. I could feel my face blushing, my body was warm, and my heart was racing.
I don’t think a show has ever gotten me so excited before.
“What’s going on? These are real sunflowers, aren’t they?” Misaki said with a confused look.
No idea. This feels like real magic.
“Kyouya. He debuted in Europe and became an instant success as a magician thanks to his unbelievable illusions and his good looks,” Kei said in a sober tone.
“Did that show have no effect on you at all? Wait, you don’t know how he did those tricks, do you?”
“Who knows? It would be against the spirit of magic if I told you either way.”
“True, true. But still. You could give me a little hint, couldn’t ya? You’re so stingy.”
I glared at Kei, but he ignored me and focused on the venue.
“Odd. I thought he would’ve used this show to his advantage…” Kei tilted his head in thought as he said this.
Oh, whoops! Sorry. I completely forgot about the Black Tear.
I hurried and looked around to find Kotone surrounded by bodyguards, clapping and smiling.
“Hmph! What a dumb trick.”
Hmm?
I knew that voice. I turned to find that heavyset rich guy we’d seen earlier on the deck.
I didn’t realize he was here. He was taking a bite out of a large piece of meat in his hands.
He wasn’t eating during the show, was he?! I can’t believe this guy! That show was out of this world!
“All right, I’m fueled up and ready to go. Let’s get the real show on the road, boys. Gah-ha-ha-ha!”
The man wiped the sauce off his hands with a napkin, which he discarded on the floor, before motioning to his entourage, who all followed him out of the venue.
Oof, what a jerk…
“Is there something wrong, Kei?” Misaki asked.
“No…”
I looked to see that Kei had also been watching the scene the same man just made.
Oh? I don’t think Kei knows that guy, seeing as he didn’t come to the deck with us.
Hmm, well, I guess it doesn’t matter. He’ll fill me in when the time is right.
I think I want to take a second to bask in how amazing that show was, though.