Chapter 296: Opera

The end of the exam week made everyone very relaxed. Even Priest Ao Gu Si, who was busy because of the Holy Prayer Festival, decided to invite Doctor Shi Nai De to the tavern for a drink.

Actually, they originally wanted to invite Xia De to go with them, but Miss Louisa directly helped Xia De refuse:

"I've been helping Xia De read 【Tree Kiss】 intensively recently, and we still have lessons at night. We absolutely cannot drink."

The doctor expressed regret about this, but since there was serious business to do, he didn't say much. However, before leaving St. Deran Square with the priest, he took out 200 pounds and divided it among the four people. According to 2.5:2.5:2:1.5:1.5, Xia De received 40 pounds in cash (Note).

After the Lake View Manor incident, the academy gave the group a school bonus of 1000 pounds. The doctor used a very magical operation to get that money out, which couldn't be cashed out, and at the cost of losing one-tenth, he got all the pounds in four times.

According to the agreement, it was now the end of the Thunder Month, and they received the first sum of money. Everyone was very happy when the doctor divided the money, but Xia De mentioned that if he could get credits next week, he would probably have to pay the tuition for the second year. So he asked the doctor not to cash out the remaining money for the time being, as that money could be used directly to pay tuition.

If the deducted part exceeded the part Xia De deserved, he could compensate the other few people at a ratio of 1 to 0.95.

"Of course you can, but do you have so much money? The tuition for the first year is relatively low, which is to take care of ring mages who have just entered the mysterious world. The tuition for the second year is charged according to the cultivation plan, and it is at least three digits."

The doctor asked with concern, knowing that Xia De had only been a detective for a month and might not have any savings.

"I have about 800 pounds in my hand, which is enough."

Xia De said while touching the cat.

"Where did you get so much gold? Oh, Xia De, if you are short of money, we can lend it to you. You must not touch Rod cards."

The old priest was very surprised. The figure of Miss Galina suddenly appeared in Xia De's mind. Most of his large income came from the Duchess. Although both sides were fair transactions, Xia De thought that if he said it out loud, it would inevitably make him look like he was eating soft rice from a woman:

"It was the detective business that gave me the opportunity to get rich. I met several generous clients. Priest, please rest assured, it is absolutely legal."

The old priest was relieved.

Doctor Shi Nai De and Priest Ao Gu Si left together to celebrate the end of the busy exam week. Luweiya had other things to do at the Divination Association and also said goodbye in a hurry. Because they were going to see the opera together at night, Xia De invited Miss Louisa to have dinner together. The blonde Miss naturally agreed and talked excitedly about what restaurant even Mia the cat would be satisfied with.

After dinner, he sent Mia back to St. Deran Square to watch the house. The opera house certainly couldn't just bring pets in. He originally thought about whether this was neglecting the cat, but looking at it lying on the sofa and not wanting to move at all, Xia De understood that bringing it out was a punishment for the cat.

The Queen Maria Opera House was on Swift Street in the north of the city. After a week of high-pressure atmosphere in the city, people's desire to go out increased instead. The tickets for tonight were almost sold out, and Miss Louisa's tickets were in the third row of the second floor of the theater, which was a pretty good position.

But the really good positions were those private boxes higher up. However, the two of them came to see the opera tonight purely for "teaching," so there was no need to waste pounds to buy such expensive tickets. Their income level hadn't reached that high yet.

The Queen Maria Opera House was the private property of the royal family. Inheriting the aesthetic characteristics of the Cavendish family, it was also decorated brilliantly. In such a high-end public place, there were naturally requirements for clothing. Most of the gentlemen were wearing black formal suits like Xia De, but one could also see a few strange clothes.

The one that left the deepest impression on Xia De was that he saw a man dressed as a woman wearing white long stockings in this world for the first time. Xia De wasn't sure if this scene would make him have nightmares at night. Even if he was dressed as a woman, the makeup on his face was too thick. When entering the venue, Xia De could smell the pungent smell of greasepaint from three people away.

"That is the playwright Mr. Prosi Newman!"

Xia De turned to look at Miss Louisa's outfit, wanting to forget the scene he had just seen as soon as possible. The writer Miss tonight was in a blue dress, very similar to the one she wore at the Lake View Manor banquet.

Miss Louisa said to Xia De very excitedly:

"Look, that is a real great writer. He has not only written scripts for operas and plays, but also has quite good attainments in long poems, novels, and essay collections."

"Why does the writer have to dress like that?"

They walked inside with the crowd. Fortunately, the playwright and his companions weren't going to the second floor, but continued to go up the stairs. If Xia De sat with him for a few hours, Xia De thought he would definitely have nightmares tonight. He didn't discriminate against other people's aesthetics, he just couldn't stand it.

"That is the aesthetic trend. Lei Qianya said that in the salons of the upper class, one can often see artists dressing like this."

She smiled, and while walking into the auditorium with Xia De, she covered her mouth and whispered in his ear, her long golden hair touching Xia De's face:

"The artistic inspiration of writers is probably not as violent as that of painters. The dressing of painters should be even more inconsistent with your aesthetics. Have you heard of someone painting clothes on themselves with watercolors and then appearing in a salon?"

"Of course not... Male or female?"

The outsider asked curiously. The blonde Miss patted him, and said somewhat reproachfully:

"Of course it's male. What are you thinking? Lei Qianya was also in the salon at the time and just had someone throw him directly onto the street. This kind of advanced aesthetic, she couldn't stand it either."

"Oh, don't talk about this kind of thing. Although we have seen more disgusting things, now it is going out to see the opera, so don't let yourself be troubled."

Xia De stopped Miss Louisa from continuing in time, and she wasn't angry, but laughed on the side instead.

The gas lamps on the walls were very bright, and the ceiling chandelier hanging directly above the auditorium also provided light and heat continuously. Dorothy Louisa liked this night very much.

Opera as an art also existed in the outsider's hometown, but Xia De had never seen it live. Sitting in the opera house with a beautiful girl in a strange world, he suddenly had the illusion that coming to this world wasn't bad.

The noisy sounds before the opening came from the auditorium on the first and second floors. The bustling scene was very lively, but as the music sounded, the light of the gas lamps around gradually became weak, and people's voices gradually became smaller.

The lights on the stage below lit up, and a girl wearing a coarse cloth skirt and holding a broom appeared. The cheerful singing was the opening of this scene.

"Hmm... so far?"

Xia De asked in Miss Louisa's ear in a low voice. From their position, the girl singing on the stage looked even smaller than Mia the cat watching the house alone at this time.

"Of course, do you want to go to the stage to watch?"

Miss Louisa answered in a low voice, and then handed him a cold metal object in the dark. Xia De lowered his head to look and found that it was actually a pair of binoculars:

"I knew you definitely wouldn't bring it. Is it your first time coming to the opera house?"

Saying this, Miss Louisa picked up the binoculars to look at the stage, just like most people around her.

"They actually all brought it..."

"Otherwise, is it just to come to listen to the singing? I just have ordinary binoculars, don't dislike it. I heard that in order to show off wealth, some people will bring gold..."

Her voice became lower, not wanting to affect the people around her listening to the opera.

Actually, from this position, one could barely see the performance on the stage without binoculars, but Xia De still picked up the binoculars and put them in front of his eyes, wanting to try what it felt like to watch the opera with this.

"It's really uncomfortable."

So he still used his eyes to watch. It was just the opening now, and the girl on the stage was telling the background story with her singing.

【Outsider, you have a level in natural science and humanities that exceeds people of this era, why is your art appreciation ability so poor?】

She probably also thought Xia De didn't know how to appreciate opera.

"The art I appreciate isn't like this."

He answered in his heart. Talking to the woman in his ear in a completely dark environment really felt like she was by his side.

【Then what kind of art do you appreciate?】

"Literary art, or more realistic visual art. Of course, if the story of the opera is strong, I will also appreciate it."

【You appreciate the story itself?】

"You can say that."

She chuckled in his ear, and then didn't speak again. Xia De thought to himself that although they only paid for two tickets, it was actually equivalent to four people watching the opera.

"It should be considered three people. Miss Louisa's 'other self' should be normal."

He thought in his heart, his body relaxed and leaned back on the chair, squinting his eyes to look at the glowing stage.

Although this week didn't experience too many things, the exam during the day today was really tiring. Sitting in the dark at this moment, without having to think about other things, was really relaxing.

He decided to enjoy this quiet night by emptying his head. Although he was a bit sleepy, he held back.

The play they came to see was titled 【Higgins' Tragic Life】, mainly telling the story of a little boy who loved writing, who went up and down in twenty years of time, until he reached the end of his fate.

Each scene of the story would use exaggerated opera performance forms to restore the fairy tale that the protagonist Higgins was reading, on one hand pushing the story development, and on the other hand describing the protagonist's situation and mood from the side.

The story of 【Tree Kiss】 was in the third act, using this story to explain the sadness and pain of the young writer Higgins after love faded away. The high-pitched female singing at the climax of the story almost shattered all the glass here, but at the same time won bursts of applause. ===== CHAPTER 297 =====