Avoiding the stinging late-August sunlight, people gathered in the park, and before them, Miho began to perform.
The Judgment of Paris
Eris, the goddess of discord, furious that she alone had not been invited to the feast of the gods.
To sow the discord that was her specialty, she threw a golden apple into the center of the banquet. Upon it were engraved the words:
"To the most beautiful goddess."
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claimed ownership of the apple.
Zeus led the three goddesses to Mount Ida. There, a handsome shepherd named Paris was tending his flock. Zeus ordered him to choose the most beautiful goddess.
Paris hesitated.
Each goddess offered him a different reward.
Hera, queen of Olympus and goddess of jealousy, promised power and wealth.
Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, promised wisdom and glory upon the battlefield.
Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, promised him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife.
Paris chose Aphrodite.
The other two goddesses flew into a rage and cursed both him and Troy.
And thus began the tale of how Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, destined by Aphrodite, became the spark that would lead to Troy's destruction.
Of all the characters in the story, the role Miho chose today was Aphrodite.
The moment her eyes softly closed and opened again, the most enchanting and beautiful being in existence appeared.
["Paris, the gifts promised by those two goddesses before me are dangerous and unreliable things. I shall offer you a gift that can bring happiness through love. Into your arms I shall place the most beautiful woman in all the world as your wife. I am Aphrodite, goddess of love."]
It was unquestionably her own body.
The broad shoulders and solid lines of a man's physique.
And yet the audience's eyes gradually turned vacant, as though they were gazing upon the most beautiful goddess in existence.
Acting so sublime that even the limitations of the shell itself could be overcome.
Her brows lowered gently.
Yet her lips curved into something strangely alluring as she bewitched the men watching.
Yu Myeong found himself memorizing patterns of muscles he had never used before.
It was strange.
What exactly was she doing?
Aphrodite continued listening to someone with a gentle smile even after her own lines had ended.
Then, after a silence long enough for another line to have been spoken, she replied.
["Of course. But even if one were to embrace a thousand women, ten thousand women..."]
Within that delicate and refined beauty, a trace of venom flickered past.
["Even if you gathered all of them together, could they compare to a single woman who is truly the most beautiful?"]
Was she speaking to Paris?
No.
Apparently Hera had objected, claiming that with the power and wealth she offered, one could possess thousands, tens of thousands of beautiful women.
And this was Aphrodite's response.
Arrogance disguised as kindness.
Aphrodite listened again.
Who was speaking this time?
["That's true. If a man becomes the greatest warrior, he could take the most beautiful woman from anyone he wished."]
Athena.
She must have argued that strong men obtain beautiful women.
But Aphrodite sank her teeth into the neck of the goddess of war, she who knew no defeat.
["But what use is obtaining the most beautiful woman if you cannot win her heart?"]
How fascinating.
No such conversation existed in the original Iliad.
Each goddess simply presented her offer to Paris, and the story ended with his choosing Aphrodite.
Yet the story added by Miho's imagination rose vividly before the eyes.
The proud persuasion of the queen of heaven.
The fearsome persuasion of the dignified goddess of war.
And stronger than either of them, the gentle persuasion of the goddess of beauty.
Not content with persuasion alone, they fiercely challenged one another's arguments.
All for a single title:
"The most beautiful goddess."
The supreme goddesses of heaven, yet at the same time ordinary women locked in a brutal struggle of nerves.
There was only one character in today's performance.
Aphrodite.
And yet it was not a monologue.
In a play where three characters exchanged dialogue, Aphrodite alone was physically present.
A peculiar one-person performance in which she left complete space for her unseen scene partners to speak and reacted to them in turn.
Yet concentration never wavered.
The audience could almost hear the missing lines themselves.
Unable to look away, they listened intently.
In the end, Aphrodite obtained the golden apple.
And Troy was destroyed.
His target was a ticket.
A general-admission seat.
One thing he liked about Europe was that art was not reserved solely for those who could afford it.
At the Vienna Opera House, inexpensive standing-room tickets were sold for poor citizens and students.
The Verona Opera Festival had something similar.
General admission.
Reserved seats ranged from fifty euros at the low end to well over two hundred euros for the best locations.
A general-admission ticket cost only eighteen euros.
Since seating was first-come, first-served, arriving early meant better spots.
After purchasing his ticket, Yu Myeong joined the admission line that had already begun forming in the morning.
Faces of people who lacked money but loved performances enough to spend this much time waiting.
Their expressions brimmed with anticipation.
Yu Myeong smiled and took his place among them.
The performance would begin at nine.
Admission started as the sun began to set.
A young woman standing beside the entrance handed out small packets from a basket.
Inside were two candles.
Ah... they're giving out candles.
{Light both of them. One's mine!}
All right.
The moment he stepped inside the Arena, he let out an involuntary gasp.
"Wow..."
It was overwhelming.
The Arena, originally capable of holding thirty thousand people, used one side of the circular amphitheater as a stage.
The result was a colossal stage and twenty thousand seats.
Even for a good general-admission spot, the stage was so vast that it seemed impossibly distant.
The actors' facial features were invisible.
One could barely hope to make out gestures.
The venue was unimaginably enormous.
Theater Company July's performance hall had seemed large enough.
This place was immense.
But something else was even more impressive.
This entire stage was dismantled and rebuilt every single day.
Five productions were performed in total.
And they rotated daily.
Even visitors staying in Verona for only a week could watch all five productions.
Each night after a performance ended, the stage and lighting were completely replaced for the next day's show.
Today's performance was Carmen.
Tomorrow would be La Traviata.
The day after that, Nabucco.
Even if he couldn't understand every word, the sheer scale of the venue and the excitement of the audience made Yu Myeong's heart pound.
Jaaang—
A massive gong sounded from one side of the stage.
People immediately began lighting their candles.
Friends and strangers alike exchanged smiles and shared flames.
Yu Myeong borrowed a light from the person beside him.
He lit two candles.
One for himself.
One for Miho.
Then, once again—
Jaaang—
The lights went out.
Every light, from the audience seating to the stage itself, vanished all at once.
And before his eyes appeared—
"Wow..."
Twenty thousand lights filling the black night.
Not candles.
Stars.
As though each human being who had accomplished great deeds in myth had ascended to the heavens and become a star.
A majestic sight, every person represented by a single point of light.
Emotion welled up in his chest.
His eyes almost filled with tears.
Then—
Jaaang—
The lights returned.
And Carmen began.
{What was? The singing? You couldn't understand the story anyway.}
"That's true. But I already know the plot of Carmen. And the singing was incredible. More than anything..."
His expression drifted dreamily.
"...that stage."
He hadn't fallen asleep until very late the previous night.
The image of twenty thousand lights still shimmered before his eyes.
And when Carmen's passionate singing ended, the thunderous applause that seemed capable of lifting the stage itself—
"Brava!"
"Viva!"
The exuberant cries of the Italians echoed in his memory.
"Isn't it incredible? One person's voice controlling a stage that large?"
{Maybe because it's singing. Grabbing a place that size with acting alone is almost impossible.}
"Even so..."
Yu Myeong smiled faintly.
"I want to stand on a stage like that at least once."
While talking, he bit into a slice of Margherita pizza he'd bought from a pizzeria in the square.
Northern Italian pizza featured thin crusts piled high with toppings.
Enormous pizzas nearly a meter across were sliced into fan-shaped pieces and sold individually.
When eaten hot, they tasted like heaven.
As he enjoyed pizza and beer, a man suddenly came running from the distance.
"Un attimo, signore!"
Who could he be searching for so desperately?
Yu Myeong looked around.
For some reason, the man seemed to be heading directly toward him.
"Signore, buon giorno."
"Me?"
The sweating, middle-aged man hurried over.
The moment Yu Myeong answered in English, he immediately switched languages.
"Ah, English is more comfortable for you, I see. My name is Andrea Moretti. I'm a stage manager here at the opera festival."
"Hello. I'm Uner Shin. Is there something you need from me?"
Uner.
Using the English name he had adopted for travel, Yu Myeong tilted his head, unable to imagine why this unfamiliar Italian wanted to speak with him.
The man's face flushed with excitement.
"Were you, by any chance, the performer who gave the street performance in the park the other day?"
"...I was."
"I happened to see it while out for a walk. If this isn't too rude to ask... do you happen to belong to an agency?"
Swallow.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed nervously.
Unlike London, Verona was a small city.
Running into someone who had seen a street performance wasn't impossible.
Yu Myeong smiled and considered his answer.
"Yes. I'm still a trainee actor, but I do belong to an agency."
"A trainee? With skills like that? My older brother runs an acting agency in Rome. Would you have any interest? If he saw your performance, he'd probably pay any penalty fee necessary just to sign you!"
"I'm very satisfied with my agency and have no intention of moving. But thank you for the offer."
When Yu Myeong declined gently but firmly, Andrea's face filled with visible disappointment.
He quickly asked another question.
"Then... could you at least tell me where you'll be performing next? I'd really love to see it again."
"Well..."
A thought suddenly occurred to Yu Myeong.
"...How much authority does a stage manager have?"
During that time, he gave another performance beside the Adige River.
This time, Athena.
Using the same script, he performed Athena's lines instead.
The strongest of goddesses, with a noble brow and a will of steel.
Yet one who refused to retreat before the title of "the most beautiful goddess."
A fearless warrior.
And still, a woman.
Then came the final day.
Before departing for Austria, he visited the Arena once more.
As he approached the staff entrance, a familiar face noticed him.
Andrea had been pacing anxiously, but immediately brightened.
"You came!"
"Hello, Andrea. Thank you very much."
"No, I'm the grateful one. If I can see that performance on this stage..."
What Yu Myeong had requested was simple.
If he could be allowed to stand on the stage once during preparation hours, when almost nobody was around, he would perform there.
Andrea explained that from one o'clock until three in the afternoon, after stage setup was complete and before the opera company arrived for rehearsal, the venue was practically empty because of siesta time.
The few staff members who remained usually hid somewhere in the shade to escape the sun beating down on the open-air theater.
"But that's the middle of the day. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"That's fine. I only ask that nobody records it on camera."
"Because of your agency?"
"The filming crews arrive with the opera company, so don't worry."
And so he stood upon the stage.
Following Andrea's lead, Yu Myeong walked across the enormous platform, his heart pounding.
Thump.
Looking forward, he found himself standing alone at the center of the immense amphitheater.
Every empty seat seemed to be staring directly at him.
As though the entire world—
Even the gods themselves—
Were watching.
An overwhelming pressure.
Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His swelling heartbeat calmed in an instant as control passed to someone else.
Miho.
{Watch closely.}
The figure that appeared was Hera.
Queen of Olympus.
Comments
Comment Rules
Please read and follow these rules before posting a comment. By submitting a comment, you agree to comply with all applicable rules below.
Site administrators and editors reserve the right to moderate, edit, or remove comments.
The following activities are strictly prohibited in comments and reviews:
Such comments will not make updates arrive faster. If a new chapter is available to us, we will publish it. If it has not been published, it means that we do not have it yet.
Do not flood the comment section by posting multiple consecutive comments. You may edit your previous comment to add more information, or include everything you want to say in a single comment.
Users who violate these rules may receive a warning. Repeated or serious violations may result in a temporary or permanent suspension of commenting privileges.
Commenting Suspended