Chapter 40: Opening

The audience was seating one by one, and the stage and backstage of the Empire Theatre were also busy at that moment.

The director and backstage staff did not dare to stop even for a second, making the final preparations before the official performance.

In the dressing room of the Empire Theatre, Akikawa Kyousuke was sitting in front of the mirror, receiving makeup from a professional makeup artist.

Beside him, his agent, Miss Itakura Misaki, was also talking non-stop.

"The Imperial Theatre is almost the biggest theater in Tokyo, it has a capacity of more than 1,800 spectators!"

"Although this is the first time Mr. Akikawa is performing in front of such a large audience, we've rehearsed so many times in the past days, so there shouldn't be any problem!"

"Speaking of that, the only thing I regret is Mr. Akikawa's figure being too thin. If it were perfect as it is now, it would be great!"

To avoid the makeup getting ruined when changing clothes, Akikawa Kyusuke only started putting on makeup after changing into the costume for the fifth act.

Because the novels in the "The Detective of the Lost City" series have a Western fictional background,

the uniform worn by Akikawa Kyusuke in the fifth act was also similar to the style of British school uniforms from the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

The upper body is a white shirt with a tie, a black vest over the shirt, and a dark suit jacket on top.

On the chest of the jacket, there is also the school emblem.

The bottom part consists of knee-length pants, stockings, and hard black leather shoes.

Finally, when he steps on stage, he has to wear a bowler hat.

It can be said that Akikawa Kyousuke, dressed in this British schoolboy uniform, looked quite handsome.

But as Misaki Itakura said, Kyousuke Akikawa's figure was too thin.

Even with so many clothes on, he still looked very thin.

In particular, this type of uniform also exposed his knees, which further highlighted the thinness of his legs.

For this reason, the makeup artist's solution was to add padding to the upper body of Akikawa Kyousuke.

The legs, which wore knee-length pants, were filled with flesh-colored silicone.

This made Akikawa Kyousuke's overall figure appear more symmetrical.

Of course, there were disadvantages.

The British school uniforms are relatively tight, and the leather shoe soles are hard and inelastic.

Additionally, there was a lot of padding.

This made Akikawa Kyousuke's movements a bit uncomfortable.

However, since Akikawa Kyousuke's character had no violent scenes, this flaw naturally wouldn't impact his performance.

"I know. I've been gradually increasing my food intake."

Of course, Akikawa Kyousuke knew that his body was very weak.

But gaining weight and increasing food intake are not things that can be achieved overnight.

And after entering ordinary life, for some reason, the system had not shown any options during this period.

After Misaki Itakura placed a small bag on the dressing table, she gave one last reminder:

"Mr. Akikawa, remember to rinse your mouth before going on stage. I've placed the mouthwash in the bag for you."

"It's very important for artists to keep their breath fresh. After all, after Mr. Akikawa's death, Mrs. Yoko will have to perform the autopsy."

"I'm Saea otani, not me." Kyousuke Akikawa corrected.

"Same, same."

Misaki Itakura said with a smile.

"The show is about to start, so I'll go to the audience first."

"OK."

After finishing her instructions, Misaki Itakura quickly left the dressing room.

For her,

today was an important day to test the first results of her work.

Moreover, it was the first day of the play starring her idol Okino Yoko.

Therefore, Misaki Itakura wanted to get closer to the audience before the program started to fully appreciate the work.

"This work is really a blessing. I meet handsome guys and beautiful women every day, and I get to watch TV dramas for free~"

Misaki Itakura couldn't help but sigh inwardly. "Lights? Where are the lights? Where did that boy Uesugi go?! Did anyone see him?"

Just as Misaki Itakura passed behind the stage and was about to head to the auditorium, she heard the assistant director shouting loudly, as if looking for the lighting engineer named Uesugi.

"Although we've rehearsed many times before, it seems like everyone is still nervous during the official performance."

Misaki Itakura muttered inwardly, secretly praying that the play would go smoothly.

Misaki Itakura approached the audience, found her seat, and sat down.

That is, five minutes after Misaki Itakura took her seat,

an announcement came that the performance was about to begin, and the theater lights dimmed.

This process is called "lights out."

It directs the audience's attention to the stage and creates an atmosphere suitable for the performance.

The audience's chatter gradually subsided, and everyone began focusing on the direction of the stage.

As the curtain gradually opened,

The streets of late 19th to early 20th century Britain were displayed in front of the entire audience.

Immediately, the audience's attention focused on Okino Yoko, who had striking blonde hair and was wearing a beige jacket at the center of the stage.

At that moment, Okino Yoko's usual vitality, full of sunshine and energy, had completely disappeared.

Instead, it was replaced by a serious atmosphere emanating from her whole body.

This was the image of the heroine Detective Quinn in the "Lost City" book series.

This time, the story began with Detective Quinn solving a cruel murder case.

It was clear that the police couldn't identify the modus operandi after several days of investigation,

but just a few minutes after Detective Quinn arrived at the scene,

It was completely deduced.

By the way, Detective Quinn also profiled the character and image of the killer through the methods the killer used to commit crimes.

In the end, the killer was arrested and brought to justice.

After closing this case, Detective Quinn also received praise from the local police and many local residents.

At the same time,

Detective Quinn received a letter from the police of another city.

A strange case had been registered locally: the local police had suddenly received a strange letter, and the sender was the deceased who had mysteriously died two days ago.

How can a dead person write a letter?

After a long period of unsuccessful investigation, the police finally decided to ask for help from the famous detective Quinn.

Detective Quinn also successfully drew attention to this case and was ready to head to that city.

At this point, the official story of the first act ended.

The curtain slowly closed, and the lights dimmed.

When the staff quickly entered the stage to change the set and props,

Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko, who were sitting in the front row, also began to whisper.

"God! It's the first time I've seen Miss Yoko as a detective. She's so beautiful!"

Mouri Ran sighed.

"Yes, yes! Suddenly, I feel like I've fallen in love with Miss Yoko! The brave Detective Quinn, I can really do it!"

Suzuki Sonoko seemed like a fan, recalling in her mind the image of the detective she had just seen, Okino Yoko.

"Do you think Yoko-chan's detective image matches anyone's image?"

From the side, the deep voice of Mouri Kogoro was heard.

Suzuki Sonoko, who already knew what he meant, seemed puzzled and curiously asked:

"Then, who is that person?"

When Mouri Kogoro heard Suzuki Sonoko's question, his blood immediately rushed to his head, and he said loudly:

"Of course, it's me, the famous detective Kogoro Mori!!"

*Whoosh*

Suzuki Sonoko and Sera Masumi instantly laughed when they heard this.

Mouri Kogoro's obscene and extremely conceited smile made Mouri Ran and Conan, who were standing nearby, cover their faces in embarrassment.

**(End of the chapter)**