Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious?

With the sound, smoke billowed from both sides, covering the entire stage.

The sudden sound startled the townspeople below the stage, who then erupted in gasps and applause, beginning to cheer.

Through the smoke, two dark figures could be vaguely seen, one large and one small, hopping and skipping out from behind the stage, and finally standing firmly in the center of the stage.

As the smoke dissipated, their attire was finally revealed.

Ron was wearing a red and white striped T-shirt, a large coat, and a triangular clown hat.

The most outrageous thing was that he wore a clown's round nose and had clown makeup on his face, with his bright red lips forming a dazzling smile.

Laxus was taken aback when he saw Ron's outfit.

Could this clown be Ron?

Chapter 16 A Kind Heart (or a Smile)

On the other side, Weiss was also dressed as a clown, and he was laughing, but his laugh was ugly.

"Good afternoon everyone, today is an audition for our Pure White Theater Company."

Ron, dressed as a clown, raised his magical megaphone and spoke into the audience below the stage.

"Our Pure White Theatre Company is about to reopen, so we will be drawing lucky winners to help with the performances, and there will also be free rewards for you."

The townspeople below the stage clapped and cheered when they heard about the reward, and the atmosphere gradually heated up.

On stage, Weiss also clapped along with the audience members.

He never imagined that he, who had never performed on stage before, would eventually have to play the clown and go on stage.

However, for the sake of the theater troupe, he had no choice but to go on stage and stay with Ron, since now only Ron and he were left in the troupe.

"Now let's choose who will volunteer to come up on stage?"

The audience below the stage were buzzing with discussion, but no one dared to raise their hand and go on stage.

"I'll do it."

Laxus, who was far away from the audience, raised his hand first.

He still maintained his cold expression, staring intently at Ron on the stage.

All the townspeople instantly turned their heads in response to the sound, all looking at Laxus.

Laxus frowned, and he couldn't help but turn his face away from the passionate gaze.

Ron's smile froze for a moment but quickly returned.

Her lips, which had already recovered, stretched even wider, and her smile became even more radiant.

"That person who raised their hand is a foolish ant-like umbrella user!"

Laxus ignored the shouts of the mechs and stepped onto the stage from the side.

Although he didn't like attracting crowds, he still came up on his own.

Because he wanted to get a closer look at what this guy was up to.

Laxus walked directly to Ron's side, staring at him with sharp eyes, trying to kill him with his gaze.

Ron ignored him, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Without saying a word to Laxus, he simply took the megaphone and started yelling at the audience.

"Without further ado, today's performance is the human body separation magic trick! Please have your assistant bring out the props."

With an unpleasant smile, Weiss pulled a vertical rectangular iron box out from behind the curtain, on which were drawn two large question marks.

There was a noticeable gap in the middle of the iron box, and a piece of metal steel plate that gleamed silver was placed on top of the box.

Weiss pulled the wooden crate to the center of the stage, spun it around twice, and then straightened it.

After Weiss opened the two doors of the wooden crate, which were marked with question marks, a space large enough to accommodate a child was revealed.

The audience watching the zinc-coated vinegar blanks and the magic wooden boxes began to discuss it.

"Performing magic tricks is so old-fashioned, who would believe it?"

"Yeah, it's just magic tricks, isn't it?"

"Shh, don't interrupt their performance."

After seeing that Weiss had finished, Ron continued:

"This is our human body separation box. Please let our lucky buddy go inside."

"Eh?"

Laxus was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

The audience below the stage lowered their voices, and the atmosphere gradually turned cold.

Ron's smile faded, but he still held the magical megaphone to his lips as he turned his head to look at Laxus.

"What, you don't want to?"

Ron then threw his head back and laughed, patting his chest to exaggerate his performance.

"I was just kidding, how could I possibly let you in!"

After he finished speaking, the audience below the stage burst into cheerful laughter, and Ron heated up the atmosphere again.

Weiss maintained his smile like a mere tool, cooperating with the audience's venting of frustration.

Laxus's face turned red, veins popped out on his forehead, and he glared at Ron with gritted teeth.

Well, you little rascal, you're actually messing with me on stage.

You better not give me a chance to embarrass you, or you're dead meat.

Ron then stepped into the magic wooden box and continued to use the magic megaphone to address the audience below.

"Okay, then you'd better watch carefully, don't miss the show."

After saying that, Weiss walked over and took Ron's magic megaphone.

Weiss then closed the bottom door of the magic wooden box, not showing it to the audience.

boo~

Ron's feet popped out from under the wooden crate on the lower side and stood in place.

Vees then picked up the metal plate and handed it to Laxus, gesturing with his eyes for him to put the metal plate down.

The shouts from the audience fell silent when Laxus picked up the metal plate.

The scene was completely silent; everyone held their breath.

After Laxus understood how Vees operated, he stood to the side and took a few deep breaths.

Crack!

Laxus pushed the steel plate through the gap, making a metallic scraping sound that sent the entire audience into a frenzy.

"Don't worry, I'm still alive."

Ron maintained his smile and even moved his legs slightly to show them off.

Then Viss stood to the side and closed the top door of the wooden crate.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Ron's lower legs started to move.

As Ron moved, the lower box gradually separated from the upper box.

The more the lower boxes are placed in front, the more the boxes stacked on top of them begin to sway.

"not good!"

Weiss's face showed a look of shock, and he quickly hugged the swaying box with both hands.

As a result, the box below completely detached and began to circle around Vess and Laxus on the stage.

Laxus was also stunned; he couldn't understand what was going on at all.

The audience below the stage burst into laughter at the comical scene.

Weiss held the box in both hands, watching the other box sway around.

He then handed the box to Laxus, and then turned his face to the audience.

"Don't open it!"

After shouting that, he chased after the lower half of the body, leaving Laxus completely bewildered.

The little box with two legs turned around and glanced at Weiss, as if it had a soul, then trembled and ran even faster.

Watching the hilarious scene of zinc being blown away and chased by the wind made me laugh even harder.

"It wasn't magic at all, it was a comedy!"

Laxus then figured out the principle behind the magic.

It turned out that Ron had hidden in the bottom box when the top door closed.

Then Ron huddled up and ran around the stage, trying to amuse the audience.

That's why they wear clown costumes and clown makeup.

Thinking of this, Laxus's face showed a complete loss of interest.

It's a boring trick, not because it shows any new magic or magic.

Forget it, there's no point in exposing such a simple magic trick.

However, when Laxus saw the two still putting on a comical chase on stage, and the audience still laughing below, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

This kid really has a talent for these kinds of performances; now I know why he's so popular.

Laxus, who was holding the box with both hands, felt that it was blocking his view of the chase scene up close, so he prepared to switch to holding the box with one hand.

Thump~ thump~

Laxus accidentally shook the box while moving it and heard a sound.

His eyes widened, and he stared in shock at the box in his hands.

What's going on? Is there something in here?

Chapter 17 The Fear Within

Laxus stared at the box in shock, only then realizing that its weight was a bit off.

According to the principles of magic, this doesn't make sense.

He swallowed hard, driven by curiosity, and with one hand holding the box, he reached out with his other free hand toward the small door marked with a big question mark.

On stage, after he opened the small door, the small door with a question mark was facing the audience's face.

When he opened it, his eyes widened even more, and a chill ran down his spine.

Ron's upper body was completely inside, staring helplessly at Laxus, holding a lighter-shaped [Memory Switch] in his hand.

Laxus turned his head to look at the lower half of the body that was still chasing him, and then at Ron's upper body in front of him. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

"I warned you not to open it, luckily I was prepared."

With that, Ron swiftly brought the Divine Strike in his hand to Laxus.

puff~

Ron pressed the button with his thumb, and a round little puff of smoke instantly popped out and bounced towards Laxus's face.

After the smoke cleared, the Ji Huan Divine Machine sprang out a duck head equipped with a spring, which stretched and bounced wildly in mid-air.

Laxus inhaled the smoke through his nose, his eyes rolled back, and he fell backward.

Seeing this, Ron immediately slammed the small door shut with lightning speed, catching all the spectators off guard.

Unexpectedly, in that instant, the box containing the lower half of the body rushed behind Laxus, who had fainted and fallen, and used the box as a cushion to successfully catch him.

The box containing the upper body landed smoothly on Laxus.

The audience applauded enthusiastically and cheered loudly at the performance.