Archive of Our Own

Medieval Times is looking for PERFORMERS to play the FOREIGN EMISSARY in our live action dinner show.

• Ability to perform extensive horseback riding (Previous horseback experience is helpful but not required)
• Ability to interact with and keep the attention of a large crowd
• Ability to work within a team environment in a fast paced live show

Medieval Times is looking for PERFORMERS to play the FOREIGN EMISSARY'S DAUGHTER in our live action dinner show.

• Ability to perform extensive horseback riding (Previous horseback experience is helpful but not required)
• Ability to interact with and keep the attention of a large crowd
• Ability to work within a team environment in a fast paced live show

Medieval Times is looking for PERFORMERS to play the FOREIGN KNIGHT and/or MARTIAL ARTS MASTER in our live action dinner show.

• Ability to perform extensive horseback riding (Previous horseback experience is helpful but not required)
• Previous experience with stage combat strongly preferred
• Strong background in Eastern and Western martial arts strongly preferred
• Ability to work within a team environment in a fast paced live show

Ryuunosuke had never expected much in the way of career advancement at Medieval Times. Sure, they were pretty liberal about who they hired when it came to servers (or "serfs" and "wenches" as they were called to keep up the internal worldbuilding) but beyond that? Well, if the side-eye he already got for being one of the only Asian-looking employees was any indication (let alone the flack their lead falconer occasionally got despite being considerably more white-passing) then taking on a more direct role like knight would probably make certain lords and ladies have a fit.

Still, the idea of spending so much of his time surrounded by stage combat and historical martial arts seemed fun. And the tips were usually pretty generous, even if the pay itself was nothing to write home about. So overall, Ryuunosuke had no qualms about enjoying his time there while he figured out what exactly he wanted to do with his English degree.

He'd been about six months into his tenure when whispers of a new show had started making their way around the building. This was right about on time, according to some of the longer-serving staff, who remembered the last show change six or so years earlier. Mrs. Garredieb down in housekeeping kept on saying it was surprising they hadn't changed it five years ago. (Ryuunosuke never quite managed to find the courage, nor the time to get a word in edgewise, to find out whether this was because she hadn't particularly liked the current show or because she would have preferred to see novelty every one to two years rather than once or twice a decade) What followed was a flurry of rumours and speculations, talking of everything from dragons to caravans, and Ryuunosuke found himself wondering what kind of show he'd create if given the chance. One with a warrior princess perhaps? Or one where knights from around the world were gathered, if they could change the story that far.

It took about six weeks for their questions to start being answered, and for the first concrete details to come forth. Or at least, it took six weeks for Gina to notice the new positions being listed on the Medieval Times hiring portal, and to text Ryuunosuke a link so he could check them out for himself.

She grinned when she caught up with him the next evening, while they were preparing jugs of water and soft drinks for service.

"Hey! You got the message I sent you, yeah?"

Ryuunosuke nodded. "Sure did."

"Great!" Gina grinned. "So you gonna apply for anything?"

Ah, so that's where she'd been going with this. He'd been wondering if she'd just wanted to gossip about the new show with someone less likely to hog the conversation than Mrs. Garridieb. But this....

He shrugged. "I don't know. Would you?"

"Of course not," she replied. "Honest to god, I think I'd hate being a face character, even if there's a princess involved. And while learning horses'n hawks could be fun, I'd miss the antics up here in the stalls. But you? I think you'd slot right in. Like, you keep saying that you practically have dual majors in English and the Blade, right?"

"Well...."

It was true. He'd made that exact joke numerous times; usually when explaining how he earned yondan status in kendo while doing final edits on his his undergraduate thesis, or explaining why he had to be scheduled off work the third weekend of every month for stage combat classes.

"And you've always said you were here for the show, right?"

"Pretty much…"

"And they're not coming out and saying it because they probably can't for legal reasons, but it's still pretty obvious that they're looking for Asian guys like you, right?"

Ryuunosuke had to admit that the mix of foreign and Eastern martial arts did point in that direction, though (if he were putting it kindly) it was a little obtuse in wording.

"I guess…"

"So apply!" Gina insisted. "At best, I'll look forward to cheering you on down in the pits. And at worst, you'll still be up here with me, and you can tell me all the ways they're getting the combat right or wrong. Now c'mon; I promised Nash and Ringo we'd have a Red vs. Green cheer-off before things got too far in tonight, so we'd better introduce ourselves to our lords and ladies real quick."

"Right," Ryuunosuke replied, and he followed her up to their usual spots in the red knight's section.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to apply, he supposed. At worst, he'd never hear back from anyone and he'd continue living his life as a server until something better came along. And at best... well, it was hard to imagine an "at best." At least when it came to himself.

The job listing made him think of someone else: a man who had studied the blade far more thoroughly than him, who had taught Ryuunosuke a fair bit about stage combat over the years, despite being around the same age. Someone who was easy on the eyes, and would be fun to cheer for, if Ryuunosuke said so himself. Someone who Ryuunosuke was lucky enough to call a very close friend.

If Kazuma Asougi was down there fighting night after night, then Ryuunosuke would be happy, no matter where in the building he was cheering him on from.

He'd ask him, Ryuunosuke promised himself. He'd make sure Kazuma knew about the job opportunity, and encourage him to apply with all his might.

Because there would be nothing better than to see his friend shine as a knight, night after night after night.

There was no world in which Ryuunosuke was supposed to make it past the first round of auditions, let alone the second. It was mind-boggling that out of all of the men who'd applied, he would make it that far. And yet there he was, along with a dozen or so other men, all of East Asian heritage, attending the third and final callback.

Kazuma was, of course, also among the remaining hopefuls, shining brighter than all the rest.

At most, half of them would probably make the final cut. And that Ryuunosuke even had that much of a chance...

It didn't really matter, he told himself. Should he fail, he'd still be able to keep his job as a server. Maybe he'd have Kazuma teach him enough that he could be an emergency cover, should anything bad happen.

There was no doubt in his mind that Kazuma would make the cut, after all. Even now, as they were all just warming up, he was nothing short of mesmerizing. It was all Ryuunosuke could do to keep himself from ogling while he went through his own set of kata. But thankfully, he didn't have to worry about the temptation for too long. Soon enough the fight director (Sir John, as he insisted on being called) was walking in the door, with a few familiar faces following behind.

"Right then. Atten-SHUN!"

The room grew silent, and all eyes turned to Sir John who met them all with an imperious smile.

"Good afternoon! I see you're all ready to go today. Good to see... good to see...." he cleared his throat. "Today, we are going to be having you spar against some of our current knights. We shall teach you all a short sequence of choreography, and then try pairing you up in different combinations so you can go at it. We hope for this to solve two problems at once, in fact: You see, we shall need to figure out which roles each of our regular knights shall fill in the rest of our roster, along with deciding what, precisely, shall be the makeup of our band of foreign dignitaries. Any questions? No? Then let's begin."

The next few hours were brutal, exhausting, and exhilarating all at once. They'd done the same routine over and over again, with nearly every possible combination of combatants, until Ryuunosuke was fairly certain he could do it in his sleep. And then they'd been directed to do some more freestyle sparring, trying out a few of the weapons they had on offer and seeing how they could improvise. By the time they were done, Ryuunosuke was damp with sweat and sore all over, but he wasn't sure he could think of a better day he'd had in ages.

"That sure was something," he told Kazuma once they'd changed back into street clothes and were heading out of the building.

"It was," Kazuma agreed. "You were pretty good out there, you know. I was impressed."

"Me?" Ryuunosuke's eyes went wide. "I mean, yeah, I felt decently competent, but you—you held the floor like nobody else out there. Especially when paired with that one guy with a scar on his face."

"Barok," Kazuma supplied.

Ryuunosuke blinked. "You know his name?"

"I tried to get the name of everyone we were working with," Kazuma responded with a shrug. "At worst, it might lead to some good networking down the line. At best, it means I'll know who I'm talking to a bit better when we're doing this for real, you know?"

"Aaaah," Ryuunosuke replied. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"He's a regular already, isn't he?" Kazuma noted. "I'm surprised you don't know his name already. After all, he's been your coworker for over half a year now, hasn't he?"

Ryuunosuke groaned. He, himself, was horrible at names. Gina had taken a few weeks, and she'd decided to be his friend on day one!

Thankfully, Kazuma decided to leave that topic behind for the time being.

"Barok is very easy to work with," he continued instead. "He's a very generous partner, and I felt like we were able to read each other pretty well. If it came off that way from a spectator's perspective, all the better."

"It did," Ryuunosuke promised. "Like, if they don't consider showcasing the two of you pretty massively, then either whatever they're looking for is wrong, or they're absolutely crazy."

"They'd be crazy to overlook you too, then," Kazuma countered. "You were the first one to pick up the routine, and even if you did end up dropping your weapon when Ashley tagged your hand, you recovered quite well."

So that was Ashley, huh? Ryuunosuke just knew him as the vengeance-seeking knight in their current routine.

"We'll see," Ryuunosuke replied. "At worst, I'll be glad to be able to watch the show every night, no matter what the vantage point."

"Fair enough," Kazuma decided. "I hope that I'll get to see it, too."

Ryuunosuke was unsurprised when Kazuma called saying that he'd been cast as the Foreign Knight. Thrilled, yes. Excited, beyond words. But unsurprised.

No, the only real shock was that he was contacted and offered a role too.

"So you're moving up, soon, eh?" Gina asked.

Ryuunosuke scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I am? But I'll just be understudying, so most days I won't be doing anything much."

"Anything much my ass," Gina argued. "You'll be like a hero, ready to save the show in case something goes wrong! I mean, that's what standbys do, right. All it takes is someone getting injured, and bam! Instant fame."

Ryuunosuke gave a sheepish grin. "I'm not sure if I'd say fame exactly...."

Gina shrugged. "It's close enough."

Fame aside, she wasn't that far off the mark. He had been cast as a standby: first cover for the knight and second for the martial arts master. It wasn't the most glamorous job, he supposed, but it would be a valuable one. Plus the opportunity to learn multiple tracks felt exciting, and more than a little invigorating.

Add on top of that the chance to work with Kazuma? Well…

Seeing him in his training gear, switching between Eastern kata and Western drills was...

Hot? Was he allowed to call it hot?

Ryuunosuke was pretty sure it was hot.

And Kazuma wasn't the only one.

Barok was playing the black and white knight that night, and if Ryuunosuke found himself drawn to watching his every move, well, he was meant to be allied with his section's own red knight, so really it was just in the name of diplomatic interest. And if it felt cathartic to watch him take down Ashley's green knight, even though he'd watched the same choreography multiple times before? Well, red and green were supposed to be direct rivals. There was no reason for it to be any more than that.

"Right then. Atten-SHUN!"

Sir John waited until the room had gone silent and all eyes were on him before he continued, a small, proud smile on his face. (Ryuunosuke was starting to get the feeling that the man enjoyed commanding the room.)

"I would like to officially welcome you all to this first day of rehearsals for our new show. To those of you who are brand new, we wholeheartedly welcome you to our family and crew. To those of you who are old-hat at this, I expect you all to assist our new recruits while they learn the ropes, no matter what your roles may be. Remember, some of you may be enemies onstage, but nothing more than friendly rivalry shall be permitted offstage within our ranks. Understood?"

A chorus of yeses sounded, and he gave a curt nod of acknowledgement.

"Very good. Now, let's all go around and introduce ourselves, shall we?"

And so they did. Barok was there of course, as was Ashley, and a handful of others Ryuunosuke recognized as knights and squires in the current show. There was an older, bearded man who would be playing the king, and a younger, tall man, who introduced himself as Sherlock (or Sir Lock as he insisted on calling himself) who would be playing the master of ceremonies. The man sitting next to him, Yuujin, was to be playing the emissary. A man named Satoru introduced himself as the first cover for the Emissary and Martial Arts Master. The acting contingent also included a few young women—Susato and Rei—and Ryuunosuke found himself wondering how they'd be incorporated into the story. (There had been a role for emissary's daughter or something, hadn't there?) The falconers were also in attendance, led by Simon as always, along with a few of the horse handlers. Kazuma was the last of the cast to introduce himself and Ryuunosuke couldn't help but smile as he did—though whether it was pride at seeing his friend there or at knowing that this would be the group with whom he'd be working with closely for the next several months, he couldn't say. But he didn't have long to dwell on it; not when there was so much still to cover. And not when Sir John was already launching into the next item in their itinerary for the day.

"For those of you familiar with some past shows, you might notice some interesting changes in what we'll be presenting this time," he informed them. "We'll have to make sure it's all ship-shape and can run on our strict schedule, so we've got our work cut out for us. But for now, I would like for you all to just listen with an open mind as we explore the elements of this new show together."

And with that, Sir John and the acting Director (also called John) went into an overview of the new plot, scene by scene.

The king is receiving a group of foreign emissaries from the far east, and is holding a feast in their honour.

The master of ceremonies, a well-liked advisor to the king, welcomes the congregating lords and ladies to the feast. After the first five knights are introduced, the king makes his entrance, followed by the dignitaries—an emissary, his daughter, and their retinue, all clad in red.

The king toasts their arrival, and the master of ceremonies shares good news of others who have joined them that day celebrating their own milestones.

Once all that business is out of the way, the dignitaries share the wonders they have brought in the name of diplomacy: horses and falconry, and a demonstration of their martial arts. The king and his advisor show off the skills of their own horses, and prepare to delight their honoured guests with a joust.

The daughter notes that one of the knights that travelled with them is well-versed in Western combat, and wonders if he, too, might be allowed to fight. The king is impressed by this idea, and allows him to join as the red knight—provided he shows he can keep up with the others in a less consequential show of skill.

The knights are then given the usual games of accuracy to perform and are given flowers for their success, which they may give to the women in their respective sections as they wish. The red knight always tries to give one to the daughter, but she demures and tells him that there must be others from within their company who he would like to favour in the name of diplomacy. Having done a decent job, the king then approves the red knight's continued participation in the joust.

(At this point, Sir John gave the standard warning that colours would change from night, as was their way to keep all sections equally valuable for seating. To keep things understandable, they would be following a green knight scenario.)

The red and green knights fight first, and red falls. The king and his advisor share their regrets that the red knight was eliminated so early, but the emissary reassures them that the outcome is acceptable. After all, someone would have had to lose the duel either way.

Next come the blue and yellow knights, then the red and yellow versus black and white. After a heated battle between both pairs, the blue knight and the black and white knight emerge victorious. They then battle each other, and although it seems like blue has won, black and white gets up and seals his decisive win.

And then green emerges for his joust against black and white. He is accompanied by a squire as usual, but unlike most squires, this one is fully masked by a helmet. When remarked upon by the king, the advisory explains that this is noted to be a not-unheard-of precaution taken against flying shards of wood, and the fight continues as planned.

They swap weapons a few times, but eventually, green seals his victory.

The masked squire then reveals himself to be none other than the red knight, who charges at green. A fierce battle ensues, but once again, green manages to subdue him.

The emissary, outraged, asks his knight why he would do such a thing, but then his daughter steps in and explains: they had heard that those who win in such a tournament would be granted a boon. And, having fallen in love on the voyage, the two were hoping to ask permission to be wed. After some assurance from the other dignitaries, the emissary agrees to give the idea some thought, if the red knight can prove that he can perform with proper chivalry in the future.

And then the victorious green knight is given his laurels, and chooses his queen of love and beauty. All the knights enter the arena one more time to receive the cheers of the audience, and the master of ceremonies invites them all to return for another feast in the future.

The show is then followed by drinks, mingling, and dancing out in the entryway, and the selling of many post-show souvenirs. And thus the immersive experience comes to an end.

"So what do you think?" Ryuunosuke asked after their lunch break. They'd spent the rest of their morning doing a line read, accompanied by the simplest of blocking to get a feel of who would be where as the show progressed.

"It's good," Kazuma decided. "The plot's a little simple, but the show's never really been about the storyline, so I suppose that's to be expected."

Ryuunosuke raised his eyebrows. "Wait. Are you calling our work chivalry porn?"

"Well if the chainmail fits...."

They shared a laugh. God, it was going to be good to have moments like this with Kazuma every day.

"Really, though," Kazuma continued, "It's going to be hard to judge entirely until we've gotten the fight choreography down. That said, the fact that my usual fight partner is going to be Barok is heartening. I'm looking forward to it."

Ryuunosuke thought back to the way it had looked when the two had been sparring against each other during callbacks, and how natural and beautiful their exchanges had seemed, whether they were doing the preassigned choreography or sparring in a more improvised nature.

Yeah, the thought that he'd get to see more of that every day was very enticing indeed.

"Me too."

The afternoon was spent orienting themselves with the various weapons that they'd be using during the shows; great swords, short swords, shields, maces, balls and chains, morning stars, and a handful of other options.

"You're a lucky troupe because you'll be the first," Sir John told them. "Our duelling instruments will be set based on which suits you best so that we can showcase a good wide range during our choreography. Those coming in to replace you will have to mold to your model for quite some time. Still, best to get yourselves comfortable with as many as possible now so our job is an easy one. To that end, grab a morning star, all of you, and we'll go over some basic positions."

And so the fight training began.

Ryuunosuke knew he wasn't one of the ones that Sir John had been talking to. Not really, anyways. Sure—he'd be taking part in these early exercises as they went from the morning star to the mace and then the ball and chain, going over some forms that would be less familiar to those who had come into this skilled in swordplay alone. But it would be Kazuma who would set the red knight's routine.

Kazuma, who was good with just about every weapon he got his hands on.

Kazuma, who would shine so beautifully every night that the audience would wish they could be in the red knight's section to win his favour, even if his plotline was doomed from the start like many black and green knights before him.

Ryuunosuke would have to work his butt off to keep up, to prove himself worthy of even being Kazuma's replacement. But as he swung the ball and chain, taking care not to hit anyone (including himself) while accustoming himself to the weapon's weight and momentum, he promised himself he'd do everything he could to not let them all down.

"So. I've got a few questions for you," Gina said the next night, during their usual pre-show bus-and-gossip time.

"Okay," Ryuunosuke replied as he laid out the napkins and chargers at his place settings, straightening them all so they'd be fit for, well, a noble dignitary who had paid for the honour to fill a seat at the king's feast.

"First off, what kinda ridiculous schedule do they have you on right now?"

"It's not ridiculous," Ryuunosuke protested, but Gina thwacked him from above with her own stack of napkins.

"You're doing stage combat rehearsals and then bussing tables! That means you're busting your ass on at least two shift schedules here! You can say it's manageable all you want, but I know I wouldn't wanna be doing double shifts for very long, even if I loved the work."

Ryuunosuke gave a sheepish smile. "Well, to be fair, about half the guys down in the arena are doing the same. Barok, Ashley, and Bif are all staying on, so they're rehearsing with all of us fresh blood. Not to mention the animal handlers, though I get the feeling that that's just daily routine for them since it's not like the animals get holidays and vacations the same way we do...."

He shrugged.

"Okay, that's fair, I guess," Gina allowed. "But still, you're the only one having to put on an entirely different face up here as a serf, versus down there as a squire. How long before you're down there only?"

Ryuunosuke shrugged. "All going well, I'm hoping to keep on doing this until I'm needed elsewhere. So whenever the court of our current king takes its final toast, so will I."

"Oooh, so we officially get a new king, then?" Gina asked.

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke agreed. "I think it's to show that it's a new generation, or at least that some time has passed. Though the fact that we seem to go through a generation every five to ten years...."

"Better not to think about it too hard," Gina decided. "I mean, it's all kayfabe anyway. But to be honest, I see it kinda like a serial. Seasons can change without years going by, and time skips can happen without anything else changing with it. That way, things never get too far in the future or in the past. And we just keep on going."

She grinned. "Either that, or the fourteenth century is the longest time period ever in recorded history. One or the other."

Ryuunosuke laughed. "Yeah, okay. You're right. I'll try not to obsess about logistics too much."

"But while on the topic of royalty," Gina continued, "I've been noticing some girls around lately. Does this king have a princess?"

"No, but there's a daughter of the foreign emissary, who's very entangled in the storyline and full of diplomatic grace herself," Ryuunosuke explained.

"Oooh, okay." Gina responded. "You spending much time with them?"

"Not really," Ryuunosuke replied. "I mean, we were all in the same space for the table read, but they're usually gonna be up there in the royal box, while all of us fighters are down in the pit. So beyond a few words between us….* He shrugged. "Maybe I should, though? The red knight and daughter are gonna need to have chemistry without a fair amount of interaction. And while I'm not really the red knight, it wouldn't be a horrible idea for me to get to know them better so there can be something genuine between us? I don't know."

"Well, if you do, see if you can invite me along too," Gina insisted. "Speaking of chemistry though, don't think I haven't spotted you staring at tall, dark, and scarfaced down there."

Ryuunosuke flushed. Had his attention on Barok been that noticeable?

"I—uh—it's nothing, really. I just like the way he fights, is all. Very beautiful. Even better when he's against Kazuma. Who, assuming you're staying around to keep serving when the new show rolls around, you're probably gonna love. I'll have to introduce you. He's amazing."

Gina looked at him, considering for a moment, but she was back to a wide grin before Ryuunosuke could question it. "Of course I'll still be here! Wench life for life, or something like that. But c'mon, we'd better get set up. Our lords and ladies are gonna start coming in soon, and you don't wanna be caught with your heart in knots when you should be dishing out drinks."

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke replied, and he placed the last of his napkins before following her up the stairs. Maybe she was right, and his schedule would feel increasingly gruelling as they finished up the current storyline and prepared the next. But it would be worth it, he thought: for the extra money in his account, for the extra time spent with Gina and Kazuma both, and for all the good things that were sure to follow.

"Ohio!"

Ryuunosuke looked at the man greeting him, confused.

He was wearing a nametag that read "Sir Lock" with something that looked suspiciously like katakana printed beneath. (Shyaarokku maybe? Ryuunosuke was far too out of practice with his Japanese characters.) He didn't have too long to try and decipher it, though, before the man waved and repeated himself.

"Ohio! It's Ryuunosuke, right? That's... dragon... something, isn't it?"

Somewhere between dragon boy and imperial shellfish depending on how he felt like interpreting the kanji his parents had chosen, though he wasn't sure how much he wanted to share that with this stranger, who had him fully stunned at the moment.

"H-huh?"

"Well, you're Ryuunosuke, right? And Ryuu is generally dragon, though I'm afraid I'm less caught up on the nosuke side of things. Anyway, I was talking with Yuujin and realized that most of our foreign contingent happened to be of Japanese descent, so I thought that as a good master of ceremonies, I'd make sure we could all communicate pleasantries in a few common languages. And thus, Ohio!"

Ryuunosuke blinked. Okay then. With the context, at least, he did understand what the master of ceremonies was trying to say.

"O-ohayou."

Sir Lock grinned. "Ah, so you do have some proficiency then. Wonderful! I'll check your Spanish tomorrow. Mata ashita!"

And with that he flitted off to greet the next person, leaving Ryuunosuke more confused than ever.

Who was Yuujin again? And why was Sir Lock so good at everyone's names? On top of which, while that Ohio sounded like someone on their first Japanese lesson, the mata ashita had sounded completely natural.

Whoever this Sir Lock was, Ryuunosuke wasn't sure if he should be impressed or frightened. But either way, he was a curious and eccentric man indeed.

Kazuma laughed as Ryuunosuke finished retelling the story of his arrival that morning.

"That's our master of ceremonies, Sherlock."

"Sherlock," Ryuunosuke repeated. "Why the Sir Lock, then?"

"Because he thought it would fit better within the world of Medieval Times," Kazuma explained. "His role's got the most freedom when it comes to naming, so he's taking full advantage, apparently."

"He knew my name, Kazuma!"

"Well, yeah. He took the time to learn everyone's names, like I did. It really is good practice, you know."

"He also knew half of what it meant!"

"Well Ryuu is a pretty common Japanese word," Kazuma pointed out. "It comes up often enough that most people can figure it out if they know some rudimentary Japanese."

"And his pronunciation was...."

He made a gesture, not quite sure how to explain Sir Lock (or Sherlock?)'s incongruous pronunciation of Japanese terms, and Kazuma chuckled once more.

"Yeah, I had a bit of a conversation in Japanese with him this morning. He figured that people would be more likely to try to respond if he said it in an Anglicized accent—either because they'd recognize the poor attempt at ohayou or because they'd have no idea why someone was using a state as a greeting. From what I can tell, he's still short of native proficiency, but was fine for a quick chat."

Well, that explained the mata ashita at least.

"So why Spanish tomorrow?"

Kazuma looked at him, deadpan. "You're the one who's been working here longer, Ryuunosuke. You know this show is set in Spain, right?"

"O-oh. Right."

Well, that solved a few mysteries at least.

Kazuma clapped Ryuunosuke on the shoulder. "Well then. If that's all that was on your mind, why don't we head out and start our training for the day, eh?"

There were a few more things on Ryuunosuke's mind, actually. Like who Yuujin was, and how both Kazuma and Sir Lock had gotten so good at names (or failing that, how he should go about trying to memorize everyone else's) but he decided he'd feel pretty silly asking Kazuma any of those directly. So he shrugged and let Kazuma drag him away.

The first few days of fight training weren't as exciting for Ryuunosuke as he'd dreamed they'd be. There were a mix of tasks to be done, for certain: sometimes taking a shift as a squire and sometimes going through drills with the rest of the fight company, and sometimes shadowing the main performers. He was getting especially well-acquainted with the martial arts master's routine, since there was far less extra room needed to have three or four men perform the same kata at once as compared to a proper stage duel. But there was far more time just spent watching as the various pairs of knights worked together under Sir John's direction to understand their floor choreography, and making sure he understood the red knight's every step and movement.

It did mean that he got to watch Kazuma and Barok, though, both as rivals and as knight-and-squire, and take in the ways that they seamlessly worked between the two dynamics as they told their bit of the story.

If his notes went between hyperdetailed and sparse as he went between wanting to memorialize every detail he was witnessing and just stare in wonder? Well... he'd let Kazuma laugh at his inconsistent note-taking all he wanted, if it meant going through each movement step by step with his best friend after.

"So you're mainly just sitting there?" Gina asked.

Ryuunosuke scratched the back of his neck. "Not really. I mean, sometimes, yeah, but I'm observing the other knights' fight training, and learning everyone's blocking, too. …and their names."

"Which mainly just sounds like sitting there to me," Gina pointed out. "If all of it's on graph paper...."

"It's lined, actually," Ryuunosuke groaned.

"Lined paper, then," Gina corrected. "Anyway, if it's mostly on paper, that doesn't leave much time for cutting loose in the arena."

"Well, training principles comes first," Ryuunosuke pointed out. "We're going to have proper put-in rehearsals after everything has been figured out. And around then, we'll probably start doing run-throughs and dress rehearsals too."

"Which you're inviting me to?"

Gina gently nudged his shoulder, and Ryuunosuke considered.

"Well, I'm sure we're gonna have to do one with all the waitstaff anyway, so y'all know when you're supposed to serve everything...."

Gina shrugged. "Unless the menu's changed completely, the cues probably aren't gonna change a ton."

"Fair." Ryuunosuke shrugged. "But yeah. If that doesn't happen, or you want to go again, then I'll definitely invite you if I can."

Gina beamed, even as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "Don't let me down, okay? I'm looking forward to it now!"

Ryuunosuke nodded. "I'll do my best."

The next week was both better and worse than the week before, and all for the same reason: horseback riding.

"Now, we are going to assign each of you your primary horse," Sir John explained on Monday morning, after Sir Lock had gone around and greeted everyone with oh gen-key dess caw? "You may be aware that this will mean that there are more of you training on horseback than there are horses in the show! This is true, and for good reason! For one, we always want to make sure there are extra horses, should anything go amiss. And for another, we do not want our stalls to be completely empty when lords and ladies arrive and make their way through our hallowed halls. Normally, they shall be able to spy on our standby and understudies' horses. However! I do expect you all to practice on both your assigned horse and that of your respective leads and alternates, so that they are used to you and you are used to them, should the need arise for you to switch!"

"Excuse me!" The emissary's daughter—Susato or Rei? He couldn't quite keep their names straight yet—raised her hand, and waited for Sir John's acknowledgement to continue.

"You spoke of the knights' horses, and I understand the importance of having two trained for every position they undertake, even if it's less than twelve horses overall. But for those of us meant to arrive on horseback and little else, will we, too, get our own horses? Or will our arrangement be different?"

Ah, so that must be Susato, then.

Sir John gave a nod of acknowledgement, then answered. "Ah, well. Yes, we do tend to be a little more economical for those horses as they can be replaced with just about any not in use, but they still must be saddled up before the show and tended to after their moment or two of time onstage. However, you'll still need to be familiar with your horse, even if you'll need far less time training with them than our knights and combat experts will. Thus, we'll have our horse staff guide you through the basics, and make sure you know how to keep them to a walk. Understood?"

"Yes," Susato agreed. "Thank you."

"Well then, if there is nothing else," Sir John looked around the ring, making sure that there was, in fact, nothing more of concern on anyone's mind. "I shall turn the floor over to our horsemaster, and have him show you the ropes."

The horsemaster was a gruff man with a long moustache, and wasted no time in setting the order of events:

First, they would work on riding the horses, directing them left and right, and changing and maintaining various gaits.

Then, those of them playing knights would work with lances, and get used to hitting specific targets.

After that would come the precision games, finessing targets down to a single, small area, until they were doing that with a decent amount of accuracy.

And only once they were proficient with that would he allow them to start fencing each other in earnest.

"I don't care if it takes long past our projected opening," the horsemaster barked, "the safety of our performers—horse and human alike—will always come first. There will always be others we can call in as stopgaps, and ways we can have one man leave helmeted and another come back bareheaded, should the worst come to worst. Now with all that said, let's get to work!"

What followed was one of the most gruelling periods of Ryuunosuke's life. While the early stage combat training had been fairly standard and relatively hands-off, given his position as a standby, there was barely any downtime once he had been introduced to his very own trusty steed. The horseback training left him sore and tired at the end of each day, even if the experience of learning a new skill carried some exhilaration in its own way. And of course, Gina noticed, looking him up and down after a particularly gruelling session a few days in.

"Well, you look like death."

"I feel it," Ryuunosuke admitted, groaning as he stretched out what sore muscles he could. (Which wasn't hard—he was sore everywhere.) "We're working on hitting targets on horseback right now, and while the good news is that I'm hitting it almost as often as not...."

"The bad news is that you're still not 60% of the time?"

"Yeeaaaahhhhh...." Ryuunosuke sighed.

It was a genuine improvement. He'd barely hit any on his first day, not yet used to balancing the lance let alone aiming it, even if he'd had virtually no problem at all getting used to balancing himself hands-free. But it was frustrating to be such a slow study, nonetheless.

Plus, all the time spent on horseback meant that there's been far less time to watch Barok and Kazuma spar, though he'd probably have been too busy working on his own horse skills to watch them, even if they had been up to anything.

That was okay, he told himself. There would be plenty of time to watch them once the show was on in earnest, when all of them were comfortable in every inch of the show, and there was a paying audience drinking in every bit of their well-rehearsed choreography.

He just would need to survive this ordeal first.

"But hey, I'm guessing you're all pretty bad at it," Gina insisted, pouring his jugs for him like an absolute angel. "I mean, you don't just get good at this stuff overnight."

"Well, not all of us are new," Ryuunosuke pointed out. "And Kazuma's almost at the point that I think the horsemaster's going to let him move on. The daughter's standby, Rei, is having a bit of problems, but Susato looks absolutely regal, like she was born on a horse or something. And then there's Sir Lock, who's been riding over to give me tips on top of what the official trainers have been telling me...."

Gina blinked. "Sir Lock? Is he... like, blond, willowy, eccentric, and about this tall?"

She held her hand high in the air, several inches about both of their heads.

Ruyunosuke had to admit, so far as succinct descriptions went, that did sound rather like the man in question.

"Yeah, pretty much," He agreed. "Why?"

"Because if that's who it is, then I know why he's so good on horseback!" Gina exclaimed. "He was a server here when I started... what? Two years ago now? One of the eldest here, but he could ramp up a crowd like nobody. Then he says he's going off to find his fortune, and we learn the next week that he's taken up a new position down in the stables! You've probably seen him once or twice; he's been running the Andalusian horse show, though we're usually off grabbing the main course at around that time, huh?"

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke admitted. He wasn't sure if he'd ever noticed the person in charge of that show specifically, even if he knew the music practically by heart.

"So he finally got a real face role, huh?" Gina grinned. "Guess he found his fortune after all."

Ryuunosuke nodded, bewildered. "Yeah. I guess so."

Ryuunosuke still wasn't allowed to joust by the time they started full runs. But then again, most of the other new standbys and squires weren't either. No wonder, he supposed, that several of the old knights had been offered places within the new company.

Kazuma, on the other hand, had gotten the horsemaster's approval right on schedule and had proven a natural at both jousting and the finesse games as expected. so it seemed that unless something horrible happened, Ryuunosuke would have all the time in the world to prepare himself. So with all that in mind, he tried not to think about his relative inadequacy as he watched the show from beginning to end.

It had been a while since he'd seen most of the new show—horse training had kept him busy elsewhere while the principals worked on bringing their choreography up from slow, counted maneuvers to beats hit at a reliable pace, so that climactic moments could happen in time with the prerecorded accompaniment. And while Ryuunosuke regularly practiced the red knight's routine with Klimt (one of the current swordsmen who was transitioning to a super swing, covering all of the knights) it wasn't the same as watching the interplay live, with the men he'd already come to think as fully embodying their roles despite never yet seeing them together in costume.

He knew how different it would be, now that it was just shy of audience-ready. And yet, it still filled him with awe.

The entire show felt alive, save for a few stops, starts, and hiccups. The king felt regal and in charge; the master of ceremonies commanded full attention whenever he was talking, whether he was being serious or vamping a few silly toasts for them to practice that spacing. And the interplay between the home royals and the emissaries was fun and felt... if not quite fresh, he could see how it would become such with just a little more practice and internalization.

And then came the horses and the hawk. The way that Simon looked as natural in the new Japanese-coded costume as hawkmaster as he had in his Western-coded leathers was stunning indeed.

Ryuunosuke had to stop himself from following along with the kata as the martial arts expert gave the delegation's final show of skill. It was good, though, feeling confident that he'd be able to pull it off at a moment's notice.

And then, after one more horse show performed by the hosting kingdom, it was finally time to watch the knights in action.

He wasn't ready for how different it had become. The steps were the same. He kept on looking back and forth between his notes and the stage combat as it unfolded, and note for note it matched up just fine. But in the time between the initial choreography being set and this first costumed runthrough, they had somehow managed to bring life into every interaction. Sparks flew as Barok and Kazuma completed their first battle, and they weren't just from the tungsten blades. When Kazuma went down, the heartbreak on Susato's face was palpable, though Ryuunosuke almost missed it. No, his heart was in his stomach watching Kazuma being helped out by the martial arts master, limping all the way, even if Ryuunosuke knew that this too, was in the script.

Ashley and Bif were both paired against freshly-graduated knights, their seniority granting them the right to win their first matches. Some small, petty part of Ryuunosuke was still glad that Ashley lost his second to Bif. It was because Ashley liked to go for real hits rather than stage hits when they were sparring, but if anyone asked, he'd say that he liked that it meant the final "legitimate" match would be between an archetypal knight and a big hulk of a brute, making for one of the most intense match-ups of the show. And with that match-up came the return of Kazuma as Barok's squire, too.

Ryuunosuke wondered how much of the audience would be able to guess that the red knight and the squire were one and the same. It wasn't just the helmet that had changed, after all—Kazuma's entire bearing seemed different, somehow looming while still perfectly subservient. It was almost creepy. (Ryuunosuke was going to have to practice those mannerisms a lot of he wanted to get half as good at creating this second persona as Kazuma was; he'd have to ask his friend for tips.) And then the helmet came off, and the second persona melted away with it, leaving only the red knight: a man hell-bent on winning, but losing in disgrace.

A pardon was granted, and then Kazuma took a moment to kneel before the king, the emissary, and his beloved before rushing out in time to get back on his horse, just in time for the final victory lap shared by all the knights as the drama drew to a close.

The fact that the show wasn't met by a road of applause felt jarring, but there was no audience yet to give it; just directors, understudies, and a few members of the greater Medieval Times crew.

"That was very good," Sir John said, standing up and making his way down towards the arena. "Though of course, John here and I both have several notes to go over. Fighters to me, actors with John in the box."

And so they gathered and went over detail after detail, from needing to add a beat to one fight to make it better match the music, to warning Kazuma to pay attention where he threw down his helmet, so it would be easy to retrieve by a squire without interrupting the action. It felt like a small eternity before they were dismissed, and allowed to get changed out of their black padded leathers and into their street clothes.

"Great job tonight," Ryuunosuke said, catching up with Kazuma as they made their way towards the dressing room.

"You think so?" Kazuma asked, turning around to smile at him.

"Oh, absolutely," Ryuunosuke agreed. "You put so much good character work in, and your chemistry with Barok is off the charts! To say nothing of your raw talent, and how quick a study you are with everything!"

"It's just training," Kazuma reassured. "You've been no slouch yourself from what I've been seeing."

"Me?" Ryuunosuke asked. "The horsemaster won't even let me do the games on horseback yet, let alone a joust! But you—"

Kazuma shook his head. "You're doing just as good as any of the other new knights. Better, by some standards. And honestly? I'm frustrated that your performing means I'm probably not in the building. Because as much as you seem to enjoy watching me perform? That's about as much as I want to see your portrayal of the red knight as well."

Suddenly, Ryuunosuke found it hard to maintain eye contact with Kazuma, his heart fluttering a little at what was probably not-yet-earned praise.

"W-well, I think I could do it even better if you could give me some pointers. Any chance you'd be free tonight to go over some of the finer details with me?"

Kazuma gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Ryuunosuke. I've already made plans with Barok for the evening to celebrate our first runthrough. Another time, perhaps?"

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke replied, a feeling of lead replacing the butterflies that had been in his stomach. "Another time would be fine."

"Woah, what's got you so down?"

Ryuunosuke groaned. He was trying to not be obvious about it, but he supposed it was failing. But one night spent with Barok had turned to two. And two had turned to three. And then all the main knights had gone out for a pub night and Ryuunosuke had only found out about it after Gina showed him pictures from Bif's Instagram, and... well, the good news was that the cast seemed to be gelling very well. They just were managing to do so without him.

Gina listened to his complaints, and then gave him another quizzical look. "Ryuu, you always make excuses not to come to our serf and wench nights."

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke replied. "Because they're always way too much of a party, and while I'm glad you all enjoy that, it's not really my thing."

"Right. Because you've always been a nerd who likes working on his hobbies or at home. No offence."

"None taken." Stage combat and martial arts aside, it was a pretty fair observation.

"So given all that, I don't see how certain people having plans to be social without you is a bad thing."

"Oh." Ryuunosuke frowned, trying to put words to why this was bothering him so much. "It's just... well... Kazuma is... well. He's been my friend for years now. And I admire him a lot. And in the new program, he works primarily with Barok. And they're both fantastic. Except... I'm starting to feel like they're wanting to spend a lot of time with each other, which... there's nothing wrong with that in theory, except...."

"Except you feel like the loser in a love triangle," Gina suggested.

Ryuunosuke stared at him. "I—what?"

"You've been ogling Barok for ages, but you haven't even really watched his routine for the past week or two. And you've been looking more and more down pretty much ever since you started the horse training, but you always seem really excited when you talk about the training directly, even if it gets you frustrated. So it's gotta be something else, right? And love's kinda the oldest reason in the book. I would've guessed it was about Barok, but saying that you had the worst stink-eye when you saw that we'd be paired with him today, I'm gonna guess it's someone else. And if you think that your friend Kazuma's spending too much time with him, it makes for a pretty obvious choice of who, doesn't it?"

"Huh."

Ryuunosuke toppled back into the row of seating benches behind him as he took in the thought.

Kazuma had always been some sort of platonic ideal in his mind. A pride and joy, and what he always kind of wanted to become.

But also... Kazuma made butterflies appear in his heart.

Just being in Kazuma's presence made him feel happy. And it hurt to see him injured, even when he knew it was fully staged.

He wanted Kazuma to be in his life forever. And wanted to watch him in action for as long as he possibly could.

If he put all of those feelings together, along with all the thoughts he'd been holding onto regarding his best friend for so long… did it truly make love?

It certainly had felt like being spurned when Kazuma had suddenly not been available, even though they'd not had any set plans ahead of time.

And when he thought about spending time with Kazuma the only thing marring the joy he felt was the knowledge that there just might be someone that his friend wanted to be with more.

Which left him with just two hypotheses, both of which were starting to look incredibly likely.

Ryuunosuke took a deep breath, held it for four seconds, and then let it out.

"I.... think I might be in love with Kazuma."

Gina grinned. "Well, good for you, then."

"Not good," Ryuunosuke corrected. "Because I think he might be in love with Barok."

The good news was, if Ryuunosuke was right, then it meant that he and Kazuma might have very similar tastes. After all, the only thing that had really turned Ryuunosuke off from Barok was the idea of losing Kazuma to him.

The bad news was, it was painfully hard keeping kayfabe and cheering for the right knights when he was holding strong negative feelings towards one of the men in the arena. It was helping his target practice at least—he'd improved drastically with his lance once he'd imagined the target as Barok, even if he knew that Barok was scheduled to always win that encounter. Just like he apparently had in real life. If not for Gina and and their other coworkers helping to keep him distracted with encouragement, team-vs-team cheers, and plans for the good luck and goodbye party that he was going to have to attend whether he wanted to or not, the next few weeks would have been torture. But eventually, the last few days of the old program started approaching. And with them, the new show's previews. All of the waitstaff was expected to attend at least one, as Ryuunosuke had anticipated, and the cast and crew had been encouraged to invite friends and family, too. No food would be served, but everyone would get a better sense of the timing of everything, and how the changes made to a few music tracks and the addition of the marital arts master would affect the routines behind the scenes.

Ryuunosuke knew full well that Gina, like most of the waitstaff, was mainly interested in seeing the full show without having to bus dishes and drinks throughout.

"Are you gonna be in the red knight's section?" Gina asked.

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke replied. "All of us understudying the foreign emissary's retinue are going to be. And even if it hasn't, it's been my section for so long that it'd feel weird not seeing this show from over here too, you know?"

"I don't know," Gina teased, "I was just thinking how fun it could be to see the show from a different angle for once. But if you're gonna be here, then I will be too. And I bet Nash and Ringo will want to do the same, if not half of the serf and wench crew. The red team's not gonna know what hit it!"

Ryuunosuke gave a half-hearted chuckle. "You don't have to. Sit wherever you want."

"Well, I want to sit with you," Gina insisted. "We wanna cheer on our graduating boy, y'know. Even if he's not gonna be out there tonight."

Ryuunosuke blushed. "You really don't have to…."

"Too bad, 'cause I've already made up my mind!" She swung an arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Ryuunosuke. It's gonna be great."

The show would be, Ryuunosuke knew. He'd seen it enough times, and Gina was not about to be disappointed. His mood, however, was likely to keep sinking with every battle performed. For once, he found himself yearning for time to move more quickly. That way he could be backstage with the rest of the standbys, and never watch Barok and Kazuma duel so passionately ever again.

Gina, true to her word, was sitting beside Ryuunosuke as they prepared for the dress rehearsal to begin.

Not that either of them were in costume, mind—there was no need for waitstaff or standbys for today's performance, after all. Ryuunosuke had done various fittings though, and admired the dragon that had replaced the Red Knight's usual lion heraldry. It would be nice to wear. And everyone from the foreign emissary and his daughter to the hawkmaster and horse handlers looked amazing in it.

In fact, Gina had nudged him shortly after the foreign diplomats had made their way up to the royal box and had pointed discretely at Susato.

" She's... like, amazingly cute, huh?"

Ryuunosuke looked up at Susato, and back at Gina. "I'd say more elegant and refined, but. Yeah?"

"Her character's supposed to be," Gina hedged, "But is she really? She's not, like, a giant jerk or anything, right?"

"No," Ryuunosuke said. Susato and Rei had invited him to join them for lunch a few times—Ryuunosuke wasn't sure if it was out of pity or to help build up the chemistry between them—and it had been nice getting to know the women he would have to occasionally be in love with, even if he knew his heart laid elsewhere. "If anything, I'd say she's pretty similar out of character?"

Gina gave a low whistle, and smiled. "So, yeah. I definitely want an introduction, then. Consider it payment for abandoning me."

"I'll do my best," he promised.

Gina grinned. "Great. And I'm looking forward to seeing your crush shine tonight."

"Yeah..." Ryuunosuke moped. "I'm sure he will."

Now that he'd been opened to the possibility, it was impossible not to notice how the dance that Kazuma and Barok had crafted together had been shaped by love.

After all, how could anyone deny the feelings that resulted from such perfect chemistry? How could one not want to polish the kernel of truth that they together held, which made them both shine brighter as a result?

The electricity when Kazuma met Barok's eyes before the final blow in the first match. The way that they seemed to naturally find rhythm after rhythm in their bouts, moving practically as one. Kazuma would say it was due to their hours of practice, but Ryuunosuke knew that practice could only get one so far. The right partner, and the ability to adapt to one another... that was the seasoning that could make a good performance great.

And within that adaptability, it was easy for love to shine through.

He didn't boo when Barok—the blue knight this time—had taken Kazuma down. He didn't cheer when Kazuma revealed himself, though he knew the moment was meant to get a rousing response from his section. And he found it hard to have much of a reaction at all as the end drew near, and Kazuma was once again thwarted and received a pardon as he vowed to show better behaviour and prove himself worthy. (A vow which would be broken night after night as the same storyline unfolded, he mumbled to himself, but he was being silly, he knew, and letting the kayfabe mess with his reality.)

And then came the time for the blue knight to claim his queen of love and beauty.

Susato was the one to throw the favour down as intended, blessing it with a kiss. But as the next musical cue began, Sir Lock cleared his throat and made an announcement that Ryuunosuke was sure was entirely off-book.

"My liege, as the red knight will never be offered this opportunity during the time of your true reign, given his position in our tale, I propose we grant him a boon tonight. What say you we let him claim a queen, as a show of goodwill to both our kingdoms?"

Ryuunosuke stared, wide-eyed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Johns share a look. This was definitely not supposed to happen.

The king, however, took this in stride, and stood, addressing the crowd.

"What say you, my lords and ladies? Shall we grant our foreign knight this boon?"

The crowd cheered their approval, and Kazuma, still on foot, re-emerged to claim the favour from Barok. They shared a quick moment of conversation drowned out by music and distance, and then Kazuma made his way to the red section, to choose his one and only queen. A quick movement of the portable stairs by two squires and he was in, walking up until he was standing next to...

Ryuunosuke.

No, Gina. Clearly it was Gina. She'd caught the first rose that he'd thrown after catching rings in the games portion. And he'd probably already made up his mind to choose her then. He'd probably find it funny, when Ryuunosuke told him that Gina was interested in Susato, should he ever be given the chance to do so, but—

"Ryuunosuke."

He startled at the sound of his name, turning to look up at Kazuma, a confused look on his face.

No. The queen of love and beauty was meant to be a woman. It was supposed to mean nothing, except to be a sweet, if heteronormative, gesture. And sure, Kazuma was his friend. But there was no way. His heart couldn't take it. There was no way that—

"I think we have a lot to talk about," Kazuma said, just loud enough to be heard over the music. "And there will be more time for that later. Tonight, if you're free."

"I'm not," Ryuunosuke admitted, maudlin. "I've got my farewell party."

"Oh," Kazuma replied, still fingering the ribbon, and beginning to turn away.

But Ryuunosuke grabbed onto Kazuma's over tunic, and looked up at him once more.

"Tomorrow though?"

Kazuma beamed. "Tomorrow would be fine."

And with that, Ryuunosuke accepted the token, and all cheered the crowning of what was probably the most unconventional queen of love and beauty that the castle had seen in quite some time.

...or, well, almost everyone. Ryuunosuke was pretty sure Sir John's blood was about to pop a vein, and Director John had a long-suffering expression on his face.

But they'd face that music later. For now there was celebrating, and high fives with Gina, and the final bringing out of all the knights to finish off the show. And to clap and cheer as loud as he could with everyone else as everything came to an end, and the cast made their exit.

Gina turned to Naruhodou once the music ended, with the biggest grin he could remember ever seeing on her face.

"So, did you like our surprise?"

"Your surprise?" Ryuunosuke repeated.

And, no, he took back what he said earlier. This was the biggest grin that he'd ever seen on Gina's face.

"Well, you were moping, so I went down and had a talk with Sherlock. And he had a talk with Barok. And they both had a talk with your Kazuma. You two are a lot alike, you know. He thought you kept on demurring from his praise because you didn't like him. And you thought he was avoiding you because he didn't like you. So once all that was cleared up, well. Sherlock said something about dress rehearsals being the perfect time for a fun run. I wasn't sure what he meant then, or how he was going to arrange it, but you've gotta admit—he's good."

It was hard to take all of that in at once, but there was one bit in particular that stood out.

"Wait. So, are you implying that Kazuma... likes me?"

"Wouldn't have gone through with the gesture if he didn't," Gina pointed out. "There were plenty of lovely young ladies in the audience, after all. Yours truly included."

Ryuunosuke frowned. "But what about Barok?"

Gina shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure he's got his own queen of love and beauty just fine."

She gestured over to where a man with very fluffy blond hair had made his way down to the front of the Blue Knight's section, and flailed happily for a while after Barok had reached to kiss his hand.

"O-oh," Ryuunosuke replied.

"So yeah," Gina said. "You really do have a lot to talk about, don't you?"

"I suppose we do," Ryuunosuke replied. "Assuming nobody gets fired for this stunt, anyway."

Gina shrugged. "Doubt it. People have done dumber things in front of a paying audience before. Better to get the tomfoolery out now while it's no harm, no foul, y'know?"

"I hope so," Ryuunosuke agreed.

He let the din of the arena fill his ears as he let the new realizations and truths of the evening sink in.

Kazuma, apparently, liked him.

If this token meant what everyone seemed to be suspecting, then the ribbon he was holding signified a desire to date him. And if they really had that talk tomorrow, Ryuunosuke might come out of it with a boyfriend.

But first, there was the party to attend, which he'd be excited enough to suffer through now, even if it wasn't his preferred way to spend an evening. And for another dress rehearsal, at which a more suitable queen would most likely be chosen, on pain of death, torture, or at least some last-minute casting changes.

And then, in about a week's time, Ryuunosuke would toast to the old king's health for the last time, and take his new place backstage to support his knight and the rest of the new company.

It would be sad, saying goodbye to everyone, even if he was just moving to another part of a building. But even more than that, he'd look forward to cheering on the red knight every night for the foreseeable future, knowing that even if the love story onstage was to end without a clear resolution, his just might lead to a happily ever after.