"The Eagle's Nest" was famous as the tallest building in Wonderland.
The theaters in Wonderland were generally a reflection of the activities of their forr owners, so the size and artistry of the buildings didn't necessarily correspond to the fa of their owners.
However, the Eagle's Nest was deserving of admiration just from its appearance alone.
The Eagle's Nest was unique even among open-air theatres. The overall shape of the theatre resembled splitting bamboo in half and burying the convex side into the wall.
Audiences sat in seats arranged along a cliff, allowing them to feel the wind passing by as they ascended the sloping surface thousands of ters high.
"Please don't throw paper airplanes. Soone on the lower floors might get hit."
With a warning from the staff, Ella stopped folding her ticket into a paper airplane with a disgruntled expression.
The building was not only tall but also uniquely positioned. It was located at the top floor of the spiral theatre, which wound around a card suit. From the seats, one could overlook the entire Card Sun. The view alone was worth the price of admission.
The Eagle's Nest, long beloved by residents and tourists as a lookout point in Wonderland, had been closed for a while.
Its owner was preparing for retirent.
Today was the day of his final performance before retirent. The owner of the theatre had invited the residents he had known over the years to his last show.
Thanks to that, the Eagle's Nest was bustling with audiences after a long ti.
Tweet.
The sharp cry of a raptor echoed through the semi-circular seats.
The attention of the audience, who had been enjoying the view below the cliff, shifted to the stage in the centre.
But calling it a stage was an overstatent; there was only a large log hanging from chains. It resembled a perch for a bird.
A man ascended gracefully onto it.
He was the acrobat and owner of the Eagle's Nest.
He had shed the butterfly mask he wore during his patrol duty and instead wore a mask resembling that of an eagle with sharp beaks.
Furthermore, his attire had changed from a guard's uniform to a flashy costu with feathers resembling wings that he used during his acrobatics.
He greeted the audience briefly and spread his wings on the perch.
"Well then, please enjoy my final performance."
Flutter.
A master standing in the corner waved his baton. He drumd on the large drums, enhancing the atmosphere.
Flutter. Thud-thud-thud. Flutter.
The acrobat with wings took a deep breath and then leaped off the perch.
His body plumted down the cliff.
"Aaah! He really jumped!"
"Stay calm!"
"Wow, I've only heard about this…!"
Like an arrow shot downward, he suddenly spread his wings wide at a certain point.
Then, his body swayed backward and began to rise with the wind rushing up the cliff.
It didn't take long for him to return to the point where he had jumped. Passing by the audience, he folded his wings around his body and perford a skillful rotation in the air.
Cheers erupted from the audience.
"Wow!"
"Amazing!"
"That gentleman, he's not dead, he's not dead!"
Giggles also burst from the kids who had gathered around.
He continued to soar through the air, displaying his tricks for 30 minutes.
Even the scarecrow couldn't help but be amazed as he swirled above the heads of the people.
Even a real eagle wouldn't be able to fly like that.
Ella scread and jumped around throughout the performance being a fellow aerial acrobat, while Lumie, watched his show with keen interest.
The performance ended, and he wandered through the audience, greeting guests.
His disappearance was only a few days away now. They bid farewell with a sense of finality, thinking of this eting as their last.
When he found his way to the seats of the Scarecrow's party, most of the guests had already left the venue.
"Ah, it's you. Thank you for coming," he said as he stood before them, but just then, Ella, who had been wanting to talk to him since earlier, interjected.
"Mr. Chen Hawk?"
As soon as she uttered those words, he felt a sense of nostalgia mixed with unfamiliarity.
"It's been a while. That na. Here, I'm usually called Mr. Magpie. You gave quite a warm applause during the performance, didn't you? It's morable."
"Hehe, not at all."
Chen Hawk.
Scarecrow had learned quite a bit about him from Ella, who had been talking about him before he arrived.
Chen Hawk was an acrobat from the Sierra Madre Highlands tribe. He was more like a warrior class than a perforr, strictly speaking.
However, with the advent of industrialization and trade, the warrior class of the indigenous people beca obsolete.
So, they elevated the status of the tribe by showcasing aerial acrobatics to travelers visiting the Sierra Madre using their tribe's flying technology.
Chen Hawk was the most famous among these Highland acrobats.
Ella ntioned seeing the mask of the magpie he was wearing in a textbook before.
"I know I was called by that na. But I'd prefer if you didn't inquire about the life I lived. Haha, honestly, I don't rember anything at all."
"Oh, was that a rude question? I'm sorry. I haven't been here long."
"It's okay. Even if it's been a long ti since I passed away, there are still plenty of people curious about the life I lived. Anyway… Is this child the family you ntioned?"
Hawk rembered the Scarecrow's who wanted to find the soul of the deceased.
The Scarecrow quickly shook his head, feigning disappointnt.
"No. I… couldn't find my family. This child is just… a friend."
"Is that so? Too bad. Just because the bond in life was strong doesn't an you can always call them here. Timing and luck have to align."
Chen Hawk gave so advice on how to summon family souls.
Perhaps due to his long experience in patrol activities, he was quite knowledgeable about it.
Though it was a story that had nothing to do with him, the Scarecrow nodded along as if listening attentively.
Then they smoothly transitioned to the main topic.
"Do you want to perform in my theater?"
"Yes. We urgently need to perform in a few days, and it's not easy to find a theatre."
He explained their situation to him skillfully.
Unfortunately, it seed he hadn't heard about their performance at the duet concert.
But he shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"You didn't win? Well, it doesn't matter. I'd be glad to let my theater be used by my juniors. But is there a suitable performance for this theater? As you can see, it's a structure that's difficult to use unless you're like , doing aerial acrobatics."
They had investigated the Eagle's Nest yesterday.
Lumie showed him her long-prepared piece, "Wings of the Fairy."
Chen Hawk was impressed as he watched Ella flying in the sky with dragonfly wings attached.
"Fantastic! I've been curious about fairy flight for a long ti… How many can you make at most now?"
"Right now, just one. But with permission, I can make up to ten inside the theatre."
"Haha, I want to fly with you. I can't resist without giving permission. So, could you tell what the performance is about?"
Ella took over the explanation.
She told him the plot of the script they had concocted over the past few days.
"There is a kingdom where birds live. There, a young wealthy peacock holds a dance party, inviting five princess birds, and the story unfolds."
Keywords were carefully selected to convey to the scattered mbers of the group.
They didn't know what the three captured had confessed during interrogation.
So they couldn't use the exact thes or circumstances they had gathered.
Instead, Ella cleverly modified those contents.
Choosing a peacock as the protagonist was also an implication of the Marquis Slagbort, whom they had gathered the group for.
Hawk was quite satisfied after hearing the first part of the plot she described.
"Excellent! Birds, huh? I like the the. Flying with the wings of a fairy, and on top of that, adorned with bird disguises? I'm dying to know the rest of the story. Haha, I might have to postpone my disappearance for a few days. It would be a sha to vanish without seeing this performance."
Hawk explained in detail how to manipulate stage devices and the structure of the theatre.
"I'll be in a state of sleep. If I stay awake, my essence will dissipate faster. If I sleep, I might delay my disappearance a little longer. I'll wake up in about three days. Prepare well. I'm looking forward to it."
The three bid farewell to him as he went to sleep, exchanging subtle smiles.
They had a plan to rescue three leaders as soon as the entire group gathered and escape from here.
It turned out they had beco the unfortunate ones who had to deceive him before he disappeared.
"If things don't work out, we'll just show him the 'Five Acrobats.' After all, they say the Mountain tribes loves the skills so much."
Ella said so, then called the Ticketer to prepare for the performance under the authority of the theatre delegate.
After registering the introduction to the performance, automatic recomnded tags popped up.
"No, let's get rid of 'harem.' This is about just one dove princess."
The Scarecrow carefully examined the tags being registered one by one. So were predictable, while others were unfamiliar to him.
Then suddenly, his eyes fell on the keywords currently being registered.
"'John Jalstain,' the na of the protagonist, a noble. Is this also a keyword shared by Elphi's friends? Whose na is it?"
At his words, Ella shrugged her shoulders uneasily and forced a awkward laugh.
"Oh, that, uh, well, it's the na of quite a well-known magician in reality! We were talking late at night, and this na ca up. E-everyone's a fan of him…."
The Scarecrow nodded, seemingly understanding, but then noticed Lumie standing next to him, holding back laughter.
"What's wrong?"
"Why don't you try reading the protagonist's na and title together?"
The Scarecrow followed her advice and soon felt the urge to bury his head in embarrassnt. Lumie chuckled quietly beside him.
Then, the Ticketer, who was writing in the 'New Tags' section, spoke nonchalantly.
"The keyword 'John Jalstain' is already registered. I'll classify it under existing tags."
His words surprised the three of them, and they looked at him in astonishnt.
"Wait, it's already registered? Where is that?"
"That would be… Ah, just now, two tickets have been released."
"What?"
At that mont, a light flashed from the entrance of the theatre.
It was the sign of the fast travel feature of the tickets.
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