Chapter 2456: Eternal Friendship and the Opera Begins

Miss Dac Dac Nisi finally parted ways with the three of them beneath the Big Ben of Belinda; it was only four in the afternoon. Though it was already late summer, the sky remained bright at this hour.

Xia De watched Miss Dac Dac Nisi disappear alone into the crowd, then heard the purple-skirted, golden-haired witch say:

"She looks very lost."

Fiona added the next sentence:

"She probably realized she can't compare to you, Teacher Feliana. But that lady need not compare herself to you; we are not in the same time and space. Moreover, she reached the Thirteen Rings in this era relying solely on herself, which is already remarkable."

Miss Feliana shook her head, looking at Xia De with a teasing expression:

"I fear her loss is not just about that..."

Saying this, the three of them crossed the square, preparing to return to Belinda Manor:

"Xia De, I noticed something very interesting. When we were up in the clock tower just now, you never addressed that Dac Dac Nisi as 'Teacher'."

"Because I only address you as 'Teacher'."

Fiona covered her mouth and laughed. Miss Feliana also curved her lips, pretending to examine Xia De closely:

"Your skill at coaxing witches need not be used on me, right?"

The red dragon girl laughed even harder. Xia De's face turned somewhat embarrassed, yet he didn't know how to explain. So the golden-haired lady took his arm and asked with a smile:

"Anyway, there is still some time before dinner. Walk around the city with us?"

"Of course, no problem."

The three of them walked away. Fiona, walking slightly behind, keenly noticed that Teacher Feliana ultimately did not say something like, "Actually, you can address her as 'Teacher' too."

"Mm-hmm, noted, noted."

The red dragon girl said to herself, very happy to have learned a new skill.

During dinner that evening, Amelia also learned that she would be leaving the day after tomorrow. Although she had long guessed she would depart soon, upon learning the specific time, her emerald-green eyes nearly filled with tears right then and there.

Fortunately, after experiencing so many events, the young elf could now control her emotions very well. Besides, she had received Xia De's promise regarding "time" on the deck last night.

Therefore, after dinner, she specifically made time to bid farewell to everyone she had met on the ship and in the manor. Not only the witches and witch apprentices, but even the maids whose names Xia De himself could not recall, Amelia, accompanied by Little Lianna, bid them all a very serious farewell one by one.

She was truly very likable.

Tonight, although Xia De still had to go watch the opera specially prepared by the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe, because the opera started very late, Dorothy specifically asked Xia De to check on Amelia again and comfort her emotions.

And when Xia De arrived at the door of Amelia's cabin on the ship, he heard this conversation—

"Agelina, I am leaving. Remember, you must write to me (sobbing). Send it to this address. Although it will take me half a month to receive the letter, you must remember to write to me."

"Oh, Amelia, I will not forget you (sad whimpering)."

"This is for you, Agelina. May the Tree bless you."

Amelia took off the wooden badge pinned to her suitcase and handed it to Agelina. Thus, the two girls of not very tall stature embraced and parted. Then, the little princess with red-rimmed eyes asked again:

"When you enter Saint Byron, will they check for prohibited items in your carry-on luggage?"

"Yes, but they only check prohibited items that have elemental reactions."

"Very well, Amelia, my dearest friend. Take these back. May our friendship last forever."

Saying this, Agelina gave all the books she had transported in her suitcase to Amelia. The pointed-eared elf looked at those books, and her face visibly flushed red:

"This is not... I don't want this..."

"Please accept them. You do not check ordinary books, but my sister will definitely check the ordinary books I take back. My sister found no problems with these books; they were first placed in Xia De's home and then transported to you for entertainment. Now, they still cannot belong to me."

The red-haired little princess hugged her friend, whom she had met in the special summer of 1854, tightly once more:

"I also set some aside for Yi Lu Na. If you have any gifts for her, I can deliver them together. She is busier than all of us, but it is easier to see Xia De... Goodbye, my friend."

"Oh, Agelina, goodbye, my friend."

The little unicorn watched them part from the side, completely unaware of the comprehensive weight-loss plan awaiting her upon returning to the familiar academy—Xiao Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya not gaining weight was true, but she was indeed a bit heavy.

Xia De, who had heard all of this at the door, was slightly surprised. Just as he was about to enter to comfort them, a hand reached out from behind and pressed on his shoulder.

He naturally knew it was Dorothy behind him, but upon turning his head and seeing the inscrutable expression on the golden-haired girl's face, he knew this was not Dorothy but Princess Lei Lei Qianya.

At this moment, Xia De could only pray for Agelina in his heart. The punishment Lei Lei Qianya had mentioned before—making her recite her "private collection" wearing only her underwear in front of their acquaintances—must not be real.

【So, who should he pray to for her?】

"She" suddenly asked. Xia De, who continued listening to the girls' farewell alongside Princess Lei Lei Qianya, thought for quite a while:

"Can it be Xiao Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya?"

"She" only smiled and said nothing more.

Tonight's performance by the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe invited only Xia De. However, since the performance venue was on the ship, the other girls did not say much, treating it merely as a reward for the "hero."

Although there was only one audience member, when Xia De arrived at the theater entrance at seven-thirty that evening, dressed formally as Hilis had requested and without the cat, he was still stopped by that young golden-haired girl:

"Guest, where is your ticket?"

Hilis, wearing light makeup and dressed in a white women's shirt paired with a dark blue formal skirt, asked and extended her hand toward Xia De. When she saw Xia De hand over the ticket, which was well-preserved and clipped inside his notebook, the smile on her face became even more radiant:

"Let me see this ticket."

She pretended to inspect it against the light, then nodded with understanding:

"The ticket itself is fine, but this ticket can only be held by Knight Hamilton of Reged. I must also verify your identity."

Saying this, she casually tossed the ticket aside, then reached out, wrapped her arms around Xia De's neck, and kissed him.

After the kiss ended, Hilis Lathers nodded in satisfaction:

"Verification passed. Your kissing skills are quite good. You are indeed that dissolute knight. Then, please~"

Saying this, she stepped aside to reveal the path to the theater audience seats. Xia De looked at the theater behind the passage, which was somewhat dim because the lights were off, and vaguely felt that something very special would happen tonight.

As the cabin theater of the "Radiant Messenger," capable of carrying four thousand passengers, this place lacked the private boxes suspended high up that the princesses favored, but at least the number of audience seats was sufficient.

At this moment, the stage curtain was tightly closed, the room had no lights, and no one sat in the rows of seats. Relying on his dark vision, Xia De walked forward along the aisle, then chose to sit in the position printed on the ticket Hilis had given him, which was the very center of the first row.

Just as he had expected, the moment he had barely taken his seat, the thick curtain pulled open to the left and right, and blinding light completely illuminated everything on the stage.

"Oh~"

【You seem disappointed?】

On the stage, as expected, there was not only Vanessa alone, but besides Vanessa there were also many young ladies. The set design looked like the interior of some enormous, magnificent castle, only the lead actress's current appearance was not good at all.

The beautiful blonde opera actress wore a small silver coronet and a wrinkled formal gown, and was at this moment bound to the throne at the highest point of the palace by a hemp rope as thick as a wrist.

The other young ladies participating in the performance had dressed as adventurers — witches, knights, astrologers, nuns, and the like — and as the music gradually rose, they walked together toward the throne.

Suddenly a rumble of thunder came from overhead. Hiris, who had hurried on from backstage, wore a dragon-horn headband ornament, had somewhat clumsy dragon wings strapped to her back, and standing beside the "kidnapped" Vanessa, swept a sword forward.

And then, after a "shwa~" sound produced by someone's beatboxing, the adventurers were all sent flying backward at once, crashing heavily onto the castle floor below the throne's raised platform.

The low, oppressive music from earlier now became stirring, and beside the musicians in the corner, the troupe's nine-ringed mage, Miss Nina Tiliss, served as narrator:

"An evil dragon from afar has invaded our kingdom, kidnapped our princess, and defeated our loyal warriors. The nation is about to burn, the princess is about to perish — knight from a foreign land, we need your help!"

At the same time, the other stage lights remained unchanged; only one brighter spotlight converged on the "evil dragon" Hiris. With a smile and an expression Xia De could not read, she gazed at him and began to sing:

"Destruction I bring, wealth fills my pouch. The princess is so fair, now she rests in my embrace. Rise, flames, devour this kingdom; roar, great dragon, all is beyond recall.

But if anyone wishes to turn all this around, you must find the princess before midnight and pluck the most beautiful flower."

Saying this, Hiris took the red rose from her dress's waist sash and tucked it beside the bound Vanessa's ear.

The music symbolizing fate grew louder and more stirring, and along with Hiris's extremely professional uproarious laughter — laughter issuing from the beautiful Hiris being extremely incongruous — the stage apparatus activated, and amid the sound of mechanical turning, the lifting platform carried her and the tearful, "panicked" Vanessa, who was gazing at Xia De, away together.

Vanessa, playing the "kidnapped princess," before disappearing still called out toward the sole audience member below the stage:

"Save me, knight!"