I like crossing the most

Chapter 1056 The Last Routine 235
Just when everyone feels relaxed, the world will teach them a lesson about how joy can turn to sorrow.

"...Excuse me." A well-dressed gentleman appeared before them with a warm smile and asked, "Are you Miss Lia from the Axel Theater?"

"Hmm? I am... and you are?"

“I’m late in introducing myself. I’m the director of the Otto Opera Company.” A slight smug expression played on his face; clearly, the name made him proud and it was quite famous. Sure enough, Darkness’s eyes widened in surprise.

"It's the Ultra Opera Troupe...?!"

"What, you know?"

Kobayashi looked at her with slight surprise, but after thinking about it, it wasn't surprising that Darkness, being a noble lady, knew.

Darkness nodded and said very seriously, "They are now the most popular opera troupe in the capital. I heard that their motto is to truly love singing and dancing and promote it to the world."

“Oh, you know what?” The middle-aged man smiled slightly, then bowed slightly and said, “Just as you said, we will help those promising talents and make them shine even brighter. And Miss Lia… I would like to talk to you about something. Please do sing as a songstress in our opera troupe!”

"...What!?" x5
As expected, this guy was here to poach her. No one had anticipated that he'd come here. But thinking about it, a songstress from a remote starting village would surely accept an invitation from such a renowned opera troupe, wouldn't she?

"Your singing voice will shine brightly in our opera troupe! Please become the opera troupe's songstress!" he repeated, his gaze fixed intently on her.

"...No, even if you suddenly say that...!"

"I deeply love song and dance, and the first time I heard your voice, I was certain. This must be a blessing from the goddess to the world! My mission is to let more people hear your voice!"

The middle-aged man said this with great enthusiasm. He seemed to particularly admire her singing, his eyes filled with longing.

Aqua proudly raised her head and said, "Hmph, it's all because of my good teaching."

"Things are going to get complicated, shut up." Kobayashi covered her mouth. "Listen carefully, this is a critical moment, don't say anything reckless."

After warning Aqua, the middle-aged man continued, "I want you! Please let me help you spread your singing throughout the world!"

"But, but..."

"Alright, alright." Seeing her troubled expression and pleading for help, Kobayashi decisively stepped forward to stop the middle-aged man, saying, "After all, I'm the producer of the Axel Theater. Before trying to persuade her, let's talk first." This was a standard situation for negotiating with a manager.

"You are Miss Lia's..." The middle-aged man looked at Kobayashi with slight surprise, then promptly bowed and said, "Excuse me, I don't think you can spread her singing to the world." To be honest, although this guy was very respectful, his tone was infuriating.

"What? What's your basis for saying that?" Kobayashi was instantly enraged. He pointed at the other person and retorted loudly, "Besides singing and dancing, I'll support this guy in every other aspect. This guy's room is pretty bad, isn't it?"

"Well, you don't have to tell me this..."

"And sometimes it even talks to the dolls, you know?"

"While I understand your desire to prevent her from being poached, I'm truly astonished by your actions."

The condemnation from others had no effect on Kobayashi. He snorted and said to the middle-aged man, "See? I don't think she can fit into the best opera troupe in the capital!"

“Absolutely no problem.” The middle-aged man remained unmoved, stating firmly, “We simply want to create a stage together with her. Besides, you only point out her flaws… Don’t you want to highlight her good qualities?”

"Ugh..." Kobayashi was instantly stunned.

"That's it."

And also, which side are you guys on anyway? You're so long-winded.

The middle-aged man continued his attack: "If you and she share a mutual trust in spreading art to the world, then this is no problem, right?" How true!
"Trust relationship... um, um, yes."

"Isn't that... not there?"

"Why are you all looking away!?"

Xiaolin was quite agitated by their reactions; she hadn't expected them to view her this way. Even the middle-aged man couldn't help but sigh and say, "...I don't think this is a good relationship. Are you really, truly sincere about her singing?"

"N-Of course! I'm the producer!" Kobayashi said, but her words were weak and sounded like she was just putting on a brave face. And the worst part was that Aqua was there to contradict her, saying, "You were saying you could make money easily."

"Hey, you're so noisy, you outsider!!"

Kobayashi shouted this in a fit of anger.

“I dare say,” the middle-aged man said decisively, “that if it were me, I could make her even more radiant than she is now! So, please, you absolutely must join the Ultra Opera Troupe—”

"I'm sorry, I can't accept what you're saying." However, after being decisively rejected, a disdainful, mocking smile unconsciously appeared on Xiaolin's face. The middle-aged man, though momentarily taken aback, still looked at her and asked, "...May I ask why?"

“I want to keep singing with my friends, so… leaving the Axel Theatre is unthinkable.” Her firm refusal and her unwillingness to be separated from her friends deeply moved the other two.

"...Is that so?" The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Thank you for your consideration, but I won't give up. We'll meet again soon, right? Goodbye." He uttered a very standard "see you next time" declaration, then left decisively without further entanglement. He was quite good in that respect, but—

Kobayashi pulled a salt out of his pocket and said with a disdainful look, "What kind of Ottoman Opera Troupe is this! Sprinkling salt, sprinkling salt!!" If she left now, that would be the real crisis for the Axel Theater to disband... We have to think of a way! At this moment, he also felt a sense of crisis.

So, the next day, Kobayashi went to the Axel Theater, waved to the three people on the stage, and said, "Hey you guys, how are you doing?"

"Oh my, isn't this Kobayashi?" They said with slight surprise when they saw Kobayashi. "It's been so long since you've come to watch us practice." Their meaningful words startled Kobayashi.

"Is that so?" He said, his eyes darting around and sweat beading on his forehead. "I thought I'd been coming to see you all along. You see... because our hearts have always been together."

But to her surprise, their expressions were filled with disgust, which hurt Xiaolin deeply. She quickly took out a small bag and handed it to them.

"Here, these are some gifts. Take a short rest... Strange, where's the other person? Isn't she here?"

"Well... last night, her hometown contacted us. To put it simply, her father is seriously ill and urgently needs someone to take care of him, so we have to reduce the activities at the Axel Theater."

"What!? Reduce the activities at the Axel Theater!?" Upon hearing this, Kobayashi immediately exclaimed. If the activities were reduced, wouldn't that mean a decrease in profits? What would happen to his rosy life?

"Yes... I'm sorry, there are some things going on at home..."

"Did your father say something to you again?"

"No, my father has approved of my activities and even supports me."

"Then what exactly is the reason...?"

"...My father's health has deteriorated."

These words caused the three to widen their eyes in astonishment, staring at her in disbelief. She, too, looked distressed and explained, "Father is responsible for everything at home, from managing the territory to interacting with the people, but given the current situation, that's not feasible... I can only help out... And I'm so worried about Father...! His stamina has declined; it seems he can only do one hour of squats a day now... Waaah!"

"No, this is quite energetic, isn't it?" Kobayashi twitched the corner of her mouth. Although she wanted to use this to create the impression that her physical strength had declined and was no longer what it used to be, not everyone could do an hour of squats, not even the perverted female knight Darkness. This was already an excellent level of physical strength.

"No way! He can sit for three hours straight without getting out of breath!"

"Anyway, we understand your situation. But there's nothing we can do... You should stay by his side." Another companion said, after all, his father is sick and can't be left unattended; it's only right and proper that they help.

"I'm sorry, you two... I've caused you trouble."

"Don't worry about it! It's true friendship to support each other in times like these, right? I'll do my best to guide you back to the stage!"

"Ah, it seems we need to reconsider our formation and tactics."

The two smiled and said this, without blaming or abandoning her. She was touched and said, "Thank you. I will try my best to make time, but... can I go back to the stage...?"

This is... a bad feeling!
Despite their best efforts on stage, the lack of nourishment they received couldn't be compensated for; in fact, it was simply too difficult for the two of them to carry the performance alone. It's like the handshake event right now—

"Today's song was the best!"

"Haha, thank you. I would be happy if you could come again."

"But the other person needs to rest for a while, right? What exactly happened?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. We'll definitely be back! ...Definitely..."

Despite saying that, the sadness that was inadvertently revealed was not faked, and even they themselves were not sure if the Axel Theater would continue to operate.

Just then, someone suddenly rushed over.

"Ah, here I am! Erica, can I say a few words?"

"What's wrong? Are you saying I'm cute?"

"Yes, that's true, but actually, before that, I met some people who knew you. They were a middle-aged couple, and after I showed them your picture, they said you looked a lot like their daughter whom they had separated from..."

"Eh?"

The sudden words left her stunned, and seeing this, Xiaolin leaned closer to the others and whispered, "If I remember correctly, she grew up in an orphanage, right?"

"Ah...that's right, she still believes to this day that 'if I become cute, my father and mother will come to pick me up'...could it be...!?"

It makes one's jaw drop.

The intruder pulled out a letter and said, "They left this behind, hoping I would give it to you... Strange, why are you crying?" Seeing the girl crying, he panicked and wanted to comfort her, but she was lost in her own world, constantly murmuring, "Daddy... Mommy...!?"

The matter did not end there; in fact, its impact has grown increasingly significant.

A third person, whom we hadn't seen in a long time, came to participate in the performance and rehearse. However, she couldn't coordinate with the performance at all, and the two of them collided head-on.

"You're taking the wrong steps."

"Sorry, I was spacing out."

"It's rare for me to come, and this is already the third time we've made a formation mistake."

"Feel sorry……"

She offered no excuses, only repeated apologies. This only made the other two feel worse, since a middle-aged couple had left a letter some time ago—they might have been each other's parents.

"...Do you care about your parents?"

"Sure enough, no matter what, I'll still think about it and want to meet in person to confirm it."

“I understand that feeling too. I want to sing and dance, but I just can’t get into it. Yesterday was the same. When I was dealing with work at home, I had sent out all the invitations for the dinner party, but when I was about to go to meet the guests, I realized that I hadn’t even finished writing the tax documents, and I hadn’t read the letters I received… My father did so much work by himself, it seems, so that I could focus on the activities of the Axel Theatre. He took on a lot of work, and maybe that’s why his health is failing… The more I think about it, the more I feel like there’s not enough time. I wish I had two bodies. I can’t help but think that.”

"...Yes, but the Axel Theatre is also an important place for me. I'm sorry, both of you, I will pick myself up again."

However, keeping such things bottled up will inevitably lead to trouble in the end, so Liya decisively went to Kobayashi to ask for a solution.

After hearing the whole story, Kobayashi nodded and said, "I see. In short, I understand the situation now."

"Kobayashi... it's not just her, can we give the other person some time?"

"Wait, wait a minute! I'll try my best! I won't hold you two back anymore!"

"No, that's not the case. In my opinion, it's more accurate to say that the Axel Theatre is holding you back."

"this……!"

Despite saying that, how could Kobayashi just stand by and watch her suffer? Her long-lost parents were right in front of her, shouldn't she go? However, just as he was about to tell her to put aside her activities and go reunite with her parents, Axel's alarm went off.

(End of this chapter)