novelraw Chapter 188
Chapter 188
Chapter 188
The most popular form of entertainment in the current Federation is enjoying Earth-based culture. Novels, comics, music, and video works preserved by Emotion. The sheer volume, which one Earthling couldn't consume in a lifetime, sadly wasn't enough to satisfy the Federation citizens, whose lives have no limit.
Though a fair amount of stock still remains, it seems even Federation citizens constantly crave new stimulation and supply.
"Professor! Professor Tropen! Are you not here—!?"
What the Federation citizens came up with was a new kind of entertainment content: performing Earth's theater themselves. It started as imitation and gradually became their own original works.
Species with different physiology and body types from the Earthlings imitated Earthlings' appearance, or kept their own form and mimicked Earthling gestures and speech patterns. There aren't many Earthling actors. Simply because few of them immigrated here.
At the root of it lies admiration for a person named Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). On the other hand, it quickly became known that Earthlings themselves were not all that Federation-like. Perhaps they wanted to preserve the romanticized expectations they initially had of Earthlings, at least in the realm of theater.
"......'I'm going to do some fieldwork. Don't come looking for me'? That guy ran off again, huh!?"
Now then. Among the video works Emotion preserved, stage plays were never abundant. That was simply because they didn't suit Kait's tastes very much, but popular content tends to get consumed quickly anyway.
Naturally, people who could write original scripts became highly valued. Currently, the two most popular playwrights in the Central Star Cluster are: one, the Earthling Shelia Watson; and two, Plack Tropen. Though born and raised in the Federation, a true Federation citizen, he now writes under a pen name styled after the Earthlings.
While Shelia Watson portrays content based on their own experiences, Plack Tropen is the type of playwright who captivates through meticulous research.
"Oh, you're here again?"
"Ah, sorry, Lutiano Fourth-Rank Citizen (Darla Strolue). Stories about Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, are just that popular."
"I don't mind. It's just......"
"Keep the dramatization minimal, right? Sorry, I try not to overdo it with the production."
The only reason he got a chance as a playwright was because he happened to make a connection with someone who had spent their childhood with Kait.
Rebecca Luthiano. Fourth-Rank Citizen. Entrusted by Kait to represent the Earthlings, and someone who grew up with him like a sibling.
The character portrayal built through interviews with Rebecca quickly gained a reputation for having more depth than other writers' depictions of Kait.
"I know. I've read one of your scripts before."
"Yeah. The production is handled by the troupe, you see. As for his actions after coming to the Federation, I mainly use archival footage for reference, so I don't think the dramatization is excessive."
"......That's true, isn't it."
Rebecca let out a sigh. Plack thought her face, tinged with melancholy, was genuinely beautiful. Unfortunately, due to species-specific preferences, he felt no romantic feelings whatsoever. As a potential romantic partner, she simply had far too little body hair.
"In that case, just make sure not to invite him. If he happens to watch and finds the production overdone, he'll hate it."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. No Federation citizen wants to be hated by Kait, Third-Rank Citizen."
Plack exaggeratedly shrugged. He was pretty sure that was a gesture Earthlings often did in situations like this.
It was precisely because he portrayed such gestures that he tried to emulate Earthlings in his actions. At the very least, Rebecca had never looked displeased when he did so.
"Then today, I'd like to ask about Kait, Third-Rank Citizen's favorite food."
"I don't mind, but...... do you even know what kind of food he liked?"
"Ah, true, I don't know much about Earth cuisine. How about this—shall we go eat now? I'd like to try dishes prepared by an Earthling chef."
"......It might not suit your taste, you know?"
"That's fine. It's part of the research. Though I'd prefer it not be too expensive."
Even for a popular playwright, Plack didn't have much financial leeway. Still, he believed that cutting corners on such expenses led to poor research.
***
A restaurant run by Earthlings, boasting itself as the home of authentic Earth cuisine.
Earth's culinary culture was incredibly diverse depending on the region, with many styles of seasoning. But most of it was lost forever due to the collapse of civilization. The dishes served at this restaurant were merely a fraction of the food culture that had luckily survived.
"......Well, how should I put it. It's a rather unique taste."
"Told you, it might not suit your palate."
Plack changed the color of his body hair to something vibrant as he brought the strangely sweet dish to his mouth without leaving any behind. On the planet where his species lived, sweetness tasted like poison. Just eating it would turn all their body hair into warning colors.
Watching Rebecca calmly eat a food called cake, Plack inwardly shuddered. Even if most poisons no longer affected him due to body modification, instincts rooted in his species weren't so easily changed.
After calmly finishing the cake, Rebecca gently told Plack not to force himself.
"You're not good with sweets, are you?"
"Y-You knew?"
"Yes. It's because we were taken care of by Ritimiele when we joined the Federation."
"Ah, so you know Ritimiele, Fourth-Rank Citizen (Darda Elra)? Then it's no wonder you knew."
"The kind of seasoning you all like tastes like poison to us. That's another cultural difference, I suppose."
"Hmm. So Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, liked this dish called cake too?"
However, Rebecca tilted her head slightly at Plack's words.
Since they had spent a long time together in the same facility, he thought she'd at least know his preferences.
"He really didn't have any likes or dislikes......"
"Hmm?"
"He truly didn't care about food. I think he felt as long as he got proper nutrition, that was enough."
"Oh?"
"Ritimiele once served him your local dish without realizing it...... what was it called again, Kaza......"
"Ah, Kazagi-Iralkeni, right? That's something eaten during celebrations."
A nostalgic dish from his homeland. Plack's body hair turned white. That one was delicious.
But what was the best dish for them was probably the worst taste imaginable for Earthlings.
"That guy apparently ate it all without flinching."
"Oh. ......Oh?"
Plack imagined eating a cake the same size as Kazagi-Iralkeni. He had no confidence he could finish it without changing the color of his body hair. In fact, he was certain his body would reject it partway through.
"That's why Ritimiele thought all Earthlings would be fine with it. She gave us some as a gift while we were in Abakia......"
Rebecca gently hugged herself as if frightened. One could imagine what kind of disaster followed eating that. But that would be rude.
"It's not that he had a dull palate. He had a good sense of taste. It's just that, well...... he didn't care about food, that's the only way to put it."
What an astonishing thing.
Plack's recent works portrayed Kait as a heroic figure. But to think he was even tolerant enough to accept such drastically different flavors with composure.
Plack might have felt the most respect for Kait through this interview than ever before.
***
The work published based on this day's interview was called a bizarre piece that left many Federation citizens bewildered. Maybe because taste differed by species, it didn't gain much widespread support.
However, one thing was certain: among both Plack's species and the Earthlings, a strange deepening of reverence toward Kait had occurred.