Death Cast

1.29 | Grecia Bella Theatre

"M—my life?"

Herman has found himself in a stump. He wasn't prepared for Jaerim to demand his life in exchange for this. Observing the young man, he couldn't help but be puzzled by his expression. If you look at Jaerim, he doesn't look like someone who would do something bad. He looks more like a normal person who got into trouble. Why would he make such a request?

Jaerim didn't know that Herman's thoughts were sparked by those few words. Jaerim did not actually want Herman's life, contrary to what Herman had suspected. His intention was to have Herman do anything that could threaten his life - well, they are already endangering their own lives by being in this situation. When Jaerim was on the way, he found a clue. He didn't want to put his own life at risk to try to find out what it was.

Why bother putting up the effort when he could benefit from someone with more experience?

Barron tightened his fist and pressed it on his lips, concealing the smile. He could see the misunderstanding that was developing between the two individuals. The two persons are clearly reading two distinct pages, yet neither of them is aware of it. Jaerim simply walked away from Herman, who is still staring at him with a serious expression on his face. He came face to face with the grim reaper, who appeared to be having a good time.

Barron made a show of clearing his throat. “Got another friend?”

Jaerim shook his head. “You don’t make deals with your friends.”

“Oh? Is that so?” The grim reaper had never heard of it before. “So, what do you do with your friends? Pinky swears?”

"You don't use them for your own gain."

Barron was perplexed at first, but when he realized what Jaerim was talking about, he was taken by surprise. As he shrugged his shoulders, Jaerim could see the grim reaper's eyes light up with a profound smile at him. They proceeded to move towards the jester, who was taking a roll call at the time. Barron chuckled briefly.

"It appears that you truly understand what you're doing," he observed.

Jaerim didn't respond in a way that suggested he was confirming the answer. Aware of the deception, Barron came to the conclusion that Jaerim was in fact using Herman to convince him that he wanted to kill him. Let Herman make up his own mind about what he can do with his own life. This is worse than outright asking someone to give up their lives for no reward whatsoever. Jaerim has decided to give Herman the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

Finally, Jaerim remarked, "Anyway, that's all there is to it. I'd like to live as well."

He'll have to do whatever to stay alive. In the final stages of life, one's moral compass can become blurred. Only saints will refrain from harming others. Jaerim isn't a saint. He is a typical human being with a great will to live. Barron was really enthusiastic about this prospect. Despite his role as a ferryman for the dead, he had no animosity toward humans in general.

Barron offered his encouragement, saying, "Keep up the good work.”

The two of them made their way to the practice area. In this dance, there will be three different couples of dancers that will take part. Autumns make up two of the four groups: Jaerim's and Noel's. It wasn’t a bad combination. This level may be within their grasp if they just put in the effort to accomplish what they are told. While Jaerim is not confident in his dancing ability, he can at least guarantee that he is capable of jumping onto those benches with ease if the situation calls for it.

Noel was rubbing his calves, as though he had twisted his ankle or was suffering from cramps when Jaerim chance to catch it. After seeing the shadow become closer, Noel opened his eyes wide to see what it was that had drawn so close. He got to his feet right away to show off his liveliness.

"I've had a bad run of luck." Noel snorted. "I never knew there was someone worse," he said. He opted for number two in a five-way lottery. He appeared to have been groomed for a performance on stage.

The taunt was ignored by Jaerim because it didn't apply to him. He paid greater attention to Noel's lower body. Due to the severity of the condition, he had to use the skill item to free Herman. He wondered if Noel was also injured, as he had spotted Noel earlier massaging his legs. He thought it was just a subconscious response brought by seeing Herman and the jester limping around.

When he thought about it, why does it look like everyone is injuring their legs in this instance?

"What's going on?" Jaerim questioned.

"I don't know," Noel responded swiftly. "I guess the soreness from the day before hadn't gone away yet."

“Is it bad?”

Noel shook his head. “Don’t worry. It's not that bad. It's not much, just a little tingle."

Jaerim no longer inquired, and the rest of the group began rehearsing. It went on for more than five hours until the jester was pleased with their practice. With only an hour remaining till their turn on stage, the jester sends them to the dressing room to change their attire and do makeup. Given that it was their second visit, Jaerim and Noel had little trouble getting into the tent, where they were surrounded by a swarm of make-up artists and stylists.

Even though the room's constraints remained, they were able to roam around more freely now. Someone only has control over their body if they are moving a lot when doing their make-up or if they have terrible posture while checking their clothes. Overall, everything went considerably more smoothly than it had previously. There is lesser excitement when they walk out of the tent.

Barron, on the other hand, is someone who would compliment after seeing something beautiful for the second time. After taking a glance at him, he added, "Quite suited for you."

Jaerim brushed aside his comments and grumbled, "How come you are permitted to wear your clothes? There was no change in Silvester either. Won't anyone notice?"

“They will,” Barron replied. 

Jaerim did not expect the answer and so he blinked. “Then why are they not saying anything?”

Barron pointed to Jaerim, “It is you who has a lot to say.”

Even in this alternate reality, people are still wary of the grim reaper. In the end, the mere fact of their existence could spell the end of life as we know it. However, despite not being directly responsible for the deaths of others, these entities appear to those who have passed away. He swatted Jaerim's forehead in an attempt to make him feel threatened.

“You are focusing in the wrong direction. You should worry about yourself more.”

Even though Jaerim could hear the words, he acted as if they were just passing through his ears one at a time. He turned his head around to search for clues. There is still time until the program begins, and he wanted to make use of this opportunity to seek information. This kind of aimless wandering yielded plenty of hints, as though being time-constrained was a necessary condition for discovering new material.

He kept a close eye on the locations where the workers were taking a break. One thing that Jaerim understands is that knowledge can come in two forms: written and vocal. They had uncovered the written information in the documents recovered in the secret study and news clippings located throughout the venue. They gathered a bunch of material, but it wasn't enough to back up their conclusion, so they had to look for more.

Jaerim believed that everyone had been collecting clues without realizing that there was also a lot of information being revealed to them practically nakedly. Members of the troupe, as well as those employed by the institution, could play a significant role in solving the case. Because of this, Jaerim stepped into the discourse between the troupes during their break times.

The people had met Jaerim on the train and were therefore indifferent when he arrived. Indeed, Jaerim blended in seamlessly, as if he were a natural member of the gang. Barron, who was tailing him, was the one who seemed out of place. Jaerim smirked as he told Barron to leave him alone.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” but Barron did not follow and remained beside Jaerim. “What is this? A congregation of average people?”

“It is,” Jaerim agreed. “We normal people understand each other quite easily.”

Barron responded with a murmur, oblivious to the curious stares. Barron, unlike Jaerim, has a great degree of beauty. He is merely acting as an escort for Jaerim, but from their point of view, it was the other way around. Barron appeared to be the master of the two. Jaerim agreed to it right away since he doesn't want to be compared to anyone else when it comes to physical attractiveness.

No, not against the white-haired grim reaper. He already lost it from the start. 

At initially, there was very little exchange of ideas. They did nothing except watch while those in charge scurried around like a swarm of bumblebees. Someone finally got bored enough to mention that the jester was limping today. Jaerim was intrigued since he had also noticed the clown strolling around with injured legs.

“What happened to him?” Character A asked. 

“I heard he got an accident early in the morning,” Character B responded. 

“Did you know what kind of accident it was?” Character C chimed in. 

Character B shook his head. “But it wasn’t major. He just got hurt himself in the process.”

The conversation centered on the jester’s injury up to small complaints about his temperament. They had seen Elias scold the props men earlier to which some of them cried after the incident. Jaerim thought that he would cry too if someone would say those words to them. The jester really has too many curses on his tongue. 

“But at least he is a good performer,” Character A said. “No, good is not enough of a phrase. He should be considered the best!”

Jaerim joined the conversation conveniently and gossiped. “You have seen him perform? Is he really that great?”

"Well, tell you what, he may appear to be cheap and shabby on the outside, but when he performs, he is pretty professional. I'd seen him dance in front of royalty before, and when he finished, everyone applauded."

There is also royalty in this world? Jaerim thought. 

“I just arrived recently so I have not seen him perform personally but I heard from our peers that he is really good,” Character D added. “Someone told me before that he is like Icarus, one so gifted as if he is made to perform on stage.”

“Whoa, that’s some kind of corny title there.”

“I’m telling the truth, ah. There are commentaries in most of his performances to which almost a third agree with his performance. The remaining are complaints from people who thought that the performance is short and he should perform once more.”

Jaerim pondered at the little information he gathered at this time. They compared Elias to Icarus since, like Icarus, Elias had created his wings to perform on the stage. However, the story wasn’t just all about that. It's not just about spreading one's wings to fly over obstacles; it's also about accepting the fact that some things are simply out of one's reach.

“At the end, Icarus lost his wings made of wax as it melted as he goes up and up. He wasn’t able to reach the sun,” Barron suddenly said. 

Jaerim looked at Barron with murky eyes. The grim reaper could tell that Jaerim was in brainstorming mode right now. 

He said, “What is he trying to reach?”

More specifically, what is the jester trying to achieve? 

Elias had told them many times to do their best to win the competition. Jaerim had been suspicious at it from the start since there is not much motivation in winning the championship. Elias is the leader of a troupe that is considered one of the best in the world. Does a mere amount of money enough to make him compete as if his life depends on it?

His mind has been filled with connections and ideas when a voice flitted past into his subconscious. He heard one of the side characters say, “He is already desperate.”

“Desperate?” Jaerim repeated. “Why?”

“Well, you need a lot of money to buy medicine.”

It made Jaerim more confused. “To buy medicine? To whom?”

“Who else? There’s only one person who needed the medicine the most. Haist, the boss is just pretending but I am sure he is trying his best to treat someone. It’s so sad to see her lady crippled like that.”

An alarm rang into Jaerim’s head. It seems that he had solved the problem in this world. He swallowed down and asked further. “Who is this lady you are talking to?”

“You have a lot of questions today,” the character nodded. “Her name is Bella.”

Grecia Bella, the owner of this place.