Mala followed Vicki to the backstage apprehensively. The actors on the stage showed her their clenched fists as silent encouragements and blessings.
"Is the maestro going to lock me up and beat me up? I'm so well-behaved, so I don't think that is going to happen, right?" Mala began to have nonsensical thoughts in her head as she followed Vicki into a room.
Crack.
Vicki closed the door and locked it.
Mala took half a step back, leaned against the wall and looked at Vicki nervously.
Maestro Vicki gave her a very unusual feeling. Sometimes, she was gentle and kind like a considerate big sister. She would teach her how to use her voice and sing.
Sometimes, she was like a strict teacher who would take out a thick and long whip to teach her a lesson at any time, which frightened her a little.
However, Maestro Vicki simply sang so beautifully like the angels and she acted just like the real Miss Black Cat, making Mala admire her so much.
Hence, being stared at by Vicki made her a little frightened yet expectant at the same time. Would the maestro agree to her request?
"Do you know what is happening out there? Why have the streets been so bustling these past two days?" Vicki asked.
"Hmm?" Mala was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect the maestro to suddenly ask a completely unrelated question. Pondering for a moment, she thought this must be the maestro's test on her, to see if she was observant in her daily life.
"I heard there is going to be a war. A devil is coming to eat us up, especially those little fatties who love to eat, so the king ordered everyone to hand in our peach trees. He said they would be used to fight the devil in the north," Mala answered seriously.
Miss told her that in the morning, and she even ate one less bowl of rice at breakfast because of that.
Vicki stared at Mala for a while, still thinking that Mala's words were completely illogical.
"Is there anywhere we can find out about the latest news around here?" Vicki asked.
"The best place has to be the information exchange center at Romo Street." Mala rattled off.
"There's such a place?" Vicki frowned, slightly taken aback.
Mala nodded her little head. "Yes. Just under those big trees at the start of Romo Street. Every day after dinner, big groups of men and women would gather there to exchange the latest news that they heard that day and package them into rumors."
Vicki narrowed her eyes slightly. She wasn't sure if this lass was taking her for a ride.
Mala blinked nervously. She wondered if she had said the wrong things.
"Go out now. Learn voice training from Ibaka first." Vicki pressed her fingers on her temples and gestured for Mala to leave.
"Alright!" Mala nodded happily and went out. Seemed like the maestro had agreed to let her stay.
"Seems like I have to go take a look at it myself."
Vicki removed a small jacket from the clothing rack on her tiptoes and put it on. Then, she put on her hat and took a few silver coins before going out.
"Maestro, are you going out?" Mister Ibaka, who was teaching Mala voice training, asked Vicki who was wearing her jacket.
"Yes. I need to run an errand. Cancel the afternoon performance. You guys take the afternoon off," Vicki said and left without a backward glance.
The actors who were rehearsing, looked at one another. Why was the maestro taking a break when they had just opened for the second day?
One had to know that these two days were the greatest time of their career.
Last night, the number of people who came to watch the show was over 20. Even though most of them were the neighbors, they were still very touched and even cried over the 500 copper coins they earned from the tickets.
Although there were only eight people who came to watch this morning's performance, it was expected as it was the morning show. The afternoon and night's performance should be better.
The maestro was the soul of the opera. Miss Black Cat couldn't go on without her.
"Alright. Continue practicing everyone. Let's give the audience a fantastic opera tonight." Ibaka clapped his hands, making everyone continue with their practice.
Vicki went to the trees at the start of the street first.
Indeed, the old men and women began to gather there after lunch and they started talking about the shocking rumors.
Vicki pressed down the brim of her hat and listened at the side. It was indeed the birthplace of rumors. Within 20 minutes, she already heard how a simple piece of information was processed into shocking rumors.
However, the old misters and old ladies' topics never ventured beyond three blocks of their neighborhood.
Vicki got up quietly and stood at the beginning of the street for a while before she hailed a horse-drawn carriage.
"Go to the nearest intel center," Vicki said.
"Alrighty," the coachman answered.
Vicki got off the carriage 10 minutes later and looked at the small intel center in front of them. She paid the coachman and walked into the center.
After another 10 minutes, Vicki walked out from the center with a kraft paper bag in her hands. She hailed another horse-drawn carriage and returned to the opera house.
Vicki locked herself in her room and seriously read through the information about the devil and the war in the north.
"The devil and the 1,000,000 Army of the Dead. Could it be the ancient invaders recorded in the ancient books? But, aren't they already all sealed up?" Vicki frowned, her dainty fingers tapped on the information.
This information was bought with five silver coins, so the content was very limited.
However, the busyness in Rodu City in the past few days was indeed related to the devil.
However, all the races had already formed allied forces to go to the north to defend against the devil and Army of the Dead.
In the past two days, the garrison had been collecting peach trees and glutinous rice from every family to send them to the front. Those who dared to keep them would be charged with treason.
"What should I do? If it's really the invaders that were sealed in the ancient times, should I report to Grandpa?"
Vicki propped her chin on her hands in a dilemma.
She hadn't done anything great yet after she ran away. Why did the idiotic devil have to come about now?
Darned it!
Vicki clenched her fists tightly.
She didn't want to care about the invaders, but what if the big idiot destroyed the Norland Continent, who was going to watch her opera then?!
She had just sworn to create the most successful opera troupe.
She had also just found a theater that they could stay in for a long time and an adorable audience, but this just had to happen.
"No, I have to go see for myself. I can't expose my location, otherwise, Grandpa will definitely send someone to bring me home."
Vicki got up and walked to the corner of the wall and gently knocked twice.
Crack.
It was a crisp mechanical sound and a small door bounced out from the wall, revealing a small cabinet.
There were two items in the cabinet, one of them was a shiny silver watch that looked very technologically advanced and the other was a silver metallic rod.
Vicki took that silver watch and put it on her wrist with a 'slap'. The wristband tightened by itself until it fitted her perfectly.
The watch face lit up and a virtual screen popped out. A spaceship was right in the middle of it.
Spaceship parameters, normal…
A row of small words drifted across it.
Vicki pulled down her sleeve and covered the watch before picking up the silver metallic rod and put it in her small bag.
"Cancel tonight's performance as well. Let's take the day off," Vicki said before going out again.
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