Riyao picked the best viewing spot, directly facing the center of the stage, where the view was wide and unobstructed.
Mirajane naturally sat down beside him, and both of them pulled out melon seeds from their pockets at the same time, their movements as synchronized as if they had rehearsed.
Lyra was the first to appear. The melody of her harp poured out like flowing water, and her singing was graceful and pleasant, sounding like celestial music drifting from the horizon.
The audience was instantly immersed. Some closed their eyes to listen, while others swayed gently to the rhythm. The entire theater became so quiet that only the singing and the lingering notes of the harp remained.
Yajima's lips curled up slightly: "This singing is beautiful."
Even Bob and the others were full of praise. Bob held his face in his hands, wearing a rare expression of intoxication.
"What truly graceful singing."
Riyao cracked melon seeds and nodded, thinking that Lyra's playing was still as pleasant as ever. The opening alone was worth the ticket price.
Then, Erza made her entrance.
She was wearing a magnificent prince's outfit, her cloak fluttering, her boots polished to a shine, and a long sword hanging from her waist. Her entire presence was strikingly heroic.
The moment she stepped out from behind the curtain, the entire audience was stunned. Some gasped, while others couldn't help but burst into applause.
But in the next second, everyone fell silent.
Erza stood in the center of the stage, as stiff as a wooden board. She didn't know where to put her hands, her expression was tense, and her lips pulled into an unnatural curve.
It looked like a smile, but it looked more like a facial cramp.
She opened her mouth and stammered out her lines: "I... I am... Da... Dalabeng... Ba..."
Every word seemed forced out through her teeth, and the pauses in between were longer than the lines themselves.
The former talent scout Bora tilted his head, looking puzzled: "Why is she so stiff?"
A young Black man stroked his chin and commented thoughtfully: "It must be an intentional feeling she's trying to portray! It's an artistic technique!"
A Black girl crossed her arms with a confident look and announced solemnly: "This must be the so-called Lamaze technique."
The ever-lucid Bora rolled his eyes and roasted them mercilessly: "It is not. Your fan filters are way too thick."
On stage, Erza continued her stiff performance, her movements frame-by-frame like a PowerPoint presentation.
She raised her hand, paused for three seconds, lowered her hand, paused for another three seconds, turned her head, and paused for three more seconds.
She was like a lagging old computer, every movement carrying a distinct delay.
Mirajane's stomach already hurt from laughing. She leaned into Riyao's embrace, her shoulders shaking so much she could barely hold her melon seeds.
"Make sure to record it clearly! We'll show it to Erza next time! Hahahaha!"
Riyao held Mirajane with one arm to keep her from falling off the chair from laughter, while holding the Crystal Ball with the other. Aiming the lens at the stage, he said cheerfully, "I'm a professional, don't worry."
The Crystal Ball clearly recorded every one of Erza's stiff movements and expressions. Riyao was already brainstorming an editing plan in his head.
Backstage, Lucy and the others could also see that Erza was far too nervous.
Lucy flipped through the script, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter as her finger traced the lines, turning page after page.
"The lines Erza is saying are way further back. Where has she skipped to?"
Happy peered from behind the curtain, observing Erza on stage, and pointed out her exact problem.
"She's overly nervous; it looks like she's stopped breathing."
Indeed, Erza's face had turned bright red, her lips were slightly purple, and the rise and fall of her chest was almost invisible.
She had completely forgotten about breathing. All her attention was focused on 'not making a mistake,' but as a result, the more she thought about it, the more mistakes she made.
Just how nervous was she? Her Requip magic went out of control.
Erza subconsciously tried to Requip, but instead summoned ten weapons—longswords, battle-axes, spears, and morning stars. Various weapons appeared out of thin air and whistled as they flew toward the audience.
The audience screamed and scattered to dodge. Longswords pierced seats, battle-axes hacked into pillars, and morning stars smashed through the floor. The scene was pure chaos.
Sitting in the audience, Yajima calmly held his teacup. Watching a spear fly past his head, he calmly commented, "One must gamble their life just to watch a play these days."
Makarov stared at Erza on stage with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.
Lucy and Gray exchanged a look and rushed onto the stage to save the show.
Lucy hung down from the ceiling while Gray stood on the other side. Both tried to pull the plot back on track, but Erza was too stiff.
Lucy had no choice but to start reciting lines to try and salvage the story, but the lines she spoke didn't match what Erza had just said at all. The audience was left completely bewildered.
"Hey, hey, I don't understand this at all."
"What are they even acting out?"
"Was the script changed last minute?"
Seeing that lines couldn't save the show, Lucy quickly summoned Clock. Clock's space-time magic pulled Erza inside.
After staying inside Clock's space for a few seconds, Erza finally resumed breathing. Like a system rebooting, she regained her spirit.
She stepped out of Clock, took a deep breath, straightened her back, and stood in the center of the stage once more.
And then continued her awkward acting.
Mirajane laughed until she got the hiccups. She curled up in Riyao's arms, tears streaming from her eyes, and melon seed shells scattered all over the floor.
Hic! Hahahaha! Hic! Help! Hic!"
Riyao held Mirajane to keep her from falling, his own shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Mira, be careful, hahaha."
The plot on stage had completely spiraled out of control.
Gray recited his lines with an expression as serious as if he were on a mission: "I shall summon the Fire Dragon to destroy everything!"
Natsu, wearing a ridiculous fire dragon costume, was carried into the air by Happy. He breathed real flames from his mouth—not special effects, but real fire.
"I am the Fire Dragon that destroys all!"
Flames erupted from Natsu's mouth. The heat wave hit the front-row audience, who recoiled in fear, but then excitedly leaned forward to watch.
The audience below watched in amazement. Some thought it was a special effect, while others realized it was real fire, but either way, the effect was truly staggering.
From there, it became complete improvisation. The script was no longer important; even the script itself probably forgot what was written in it.
Gray spoke to Erza, his tone as affectionate as if he were confessing his love.
"We have no choice but to work together."
Erza replied, her expression as stern as if she were declaring war.
"That is a good idea."
Lucy waved her hand, striking a cool pose: "Leave this to me! You guys go!"
The audience members began to roast the performance, their voices growing louder.
"Hey! Isn't that the fire dragon you summoned?!"
"Wait, aren't you the princess? What are you doing?!"
"You're just going to run away like that? Aren't you going to save the princess?"
"What a terrible play!"
Bob, never one to shy away from trouble, cupped his face and said excitedly, "Oh my, they're going to elope."
Godman offered a baffling evaluation, his tone as deep as if he were discussing philosophy: "This is the advantage of youth."
Riyao shook his head as he listened from the side, thinking to himself that this was a total mess.
It got even more chaotic on stage.
Happy could no longer hold onto Natsu. Natsu was too heavy, and Happy's wings gave out after a few flutters.
Natsu fell from mid-air, still breathing fire, and the flames caught Lucy's dress.
Lucy shrieked as a large hole was burned into her dress, and she scrambled to put out the fire.
Seeing Lucy's dress on fire, Erza instinctively rushed over, Requipped a longsword, and with a few swift slashes, precisely cut away all the burning parts.
The dress was saved, but the area cut away was a bit large.
Lucy's dress was cut down to a tiny fragment. She looked down, her face instantly turning red to the roots of her ears. She tried to cover herself with her hands, but she couldn't cover everything.
The audience members' faces turned red as they watched. Some whistled, while others covered their children's eyes.
"Whoooo!"
Before Riyao could react, a pair of hands suddenly covered his eyes.
"No looking!" Mirajane's voice came from behind him, her tone carrying a hint of jealousy, but mostly amusement.
With his eyes covered, Riyao could only continue holding the Crystal Ball by feel, muttering, "I'm recording this, it's a professional recording!"
"You're not allowed to look even for a recording!"
The stage had completely turned into a chaotic mess.
Natsu was breathing fire everywhere, Gray was frantically creating ice, Erza was nervously swinging her longsword, Lucy was running around covering her dress, and Happy was flying wildly in the air.
Fire and ice collided on stage, steam filled the air, and longswords left deep gashes in the pillars. The entire theater teetered on the brink of collapse under the trio's destruction.
With a loud crash, the theater completely collapsed.
Makarov poked his head out from the rubble, covered in dust with a broken brick on his head, his expression as shocked as if he had just experienced an earthquake.
"How did it come to this!?"
Yajima sat beside the ruins, calmly brushed the dust off himself, and sighed.
"Old Ma, you should just retire early."
Bob cupped his face with an intoxicated expression, as if he were admiring a work of art.
"Fairy Tail is as lively as ever."
Godman nodded, his tone profound.
"Ah, youth."
Riyao crawled out of the ruins, brushed off the dust, looked at the wrecked theater, and then at the people on stage who still didn't realize what had happened, shaking his head helplessly.
But to everyone's surprise, such a disastrous performance actually left the audience incredibly excited.
"Whoa! That was amazing!"
"So thrilling! This was way more exciting than any serious play!"
"Fairy Tail really lives up to its reputation!"
"Is there another one tomorrow?!"
Instead of demanding refunds, the audience members were each as excited as if they had just finished watching a blockbuster movie. Some even started clapping and cheering.
The director crawled out of the ruins, saw the enthusiastic crowd, and his eyes darted around as he immediately seized the business opportunity.
He kept Lucy and the others there to continue performing—three shows a day, every single one packed, with tickets in high demand.
Word of mouth spread among the audience, saying it was the most thrilling theatrical performance in the entire Kingdom of Fiore, bar none.
As for the reward?
The director smilingly pulled out a bill listing the theater's repair costs, the number so large it made one's head spin.
"Let's settle the repair costs first."
Lucy froze as she looked at the bill, then slowly crouched down and hugged her knees.
"My reward..."
Riyao, cracking melon seeds nearby, said gloatingly, "I told you, performing would be more exhausting."
Lucy snapped her head up and roared at Riyao, "Shut up, you black-bellied man!!!"