The End of the New Year and Childhood (3)
The conversation with Alexandra ended there. It wasn’t that she kicked us out after saying she had nothing more to say and had seen enough of us. A rather urgent guest had arrived. From what I overheard, it seemed to be one of the biggest merchants in Lucregens. The only room in this building suitable for receiving such a high-profile visitor was the very parlor where we had been talking. There was no reason to have multiple reception rooms like this in the first place. So we decided to break up the gathering right then.
“Looks like you have a guest. In that case, it would be rude for us to keep occupying the parlor!”
I said that and quickly left the room with my wives. It was absolutely not because I got scared off by the silent pressure hidden behind Alexandra’s smile. And even if it was a retreat, it was a strategic one, okay? People from this world might not know, but back in my homeland we have the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Since ancient times, a wound on the back has been considered the shame of a true man, so there’s no way I would run away, right?
“Reeeh~.”
Having left the parlor, I postponed my plan to meet the freak show performers who had been exploited by that damn cream-sauce circus troupe. One thing I couldn’t forget was that I had rescued them under my fake identity, Arthur Wayne. During the rescue operation, Alexandra had met Franc, who had been moving together with Larilura. That meant she now knew that Norde was Arthur Wayne. The other circus members had heard that the person Larilura followed was the adventurer Norde—and now that I thought about it, they had probably seen the letter she sent—so they must have greeted me so warmly because of that.
In other words, if I wanted to meet the victims of the freak show, I first had to disguise myself as Arthur Wayne again. Disguising myself wasn’t particularly difficult if I used rune magic. The problem was timing. If Norde, who hangs out with Larilura, and Arthur Wayne both showed up on the same day, anyone who wasn’t an idiot would connect the two. That was probably why Alexandra had told me to drop by “when I had time.” She likely meant for me to come another day, not today. Every single word had been a setup. It gave me chills.
Anyway, that was why today I had simply handed over a letter I’d written with borrowed paper and pen before leaving. The content was something like, “I was just wondering how you were doing, so I reached out through Larilura. No need to reply.” Originally I grew up as a K-macho with tsundere tendencies thanks to my father, so I wasn’t used to sending awkward check-in messages like this. Still, sometimes these things were necessary.
“Puuuooo! (Eyes naaa!)”
As I was heading down the stairs without getting lost, I suddenly heard the cry of a baby elephant. It sounded cute if you only listened to the noise, but the fact that I could understand the meaning was the real problem. Fuck. I just want to hear animal sounds without thinking for once.
I inwardly cursed my automatic translation ability for the first time in a while and followed the sound. The baby elephant I had seen before had grown enormously and was rubbing its face against Larilura.
「Ahahaha♡! Why did you get so big!」
“Puuooo~ (Hehe~)”
It looked like Larilura had also reunited with the circus animals. The circus members watching her nearby with fond eyes seemed like relatives watching a little girl show off her cute antics.
「Ah. Are you done talking?」
Mokona, who had guided us earlier, recognized me and spoke up. I nodded.
「I came to see what Larilura was doing.」
「Ah, I see. As you can see, she’s playing with the animals.」
“Yeah. Well, we’re planning to stay in this city for a few more days anyway, so today…”
I trailed off mid-sentence and swallowed the rest of my words. I had been about to say, “I came to tell you it’s fine if she stays here tonight,” but somehow it felt off. It would sound like, “Of course she’ll come back to us, but it’s okay if she stays here for tonight~.” Maybe I was overthinking it, but after talking with Alexandra, saying it that way felt incredibly awkward.
Mokona looked at me strangely as I stopped talking. I tried to come up with some excuse or another comment, but fortunately I didn’t have to.
─Clap! Clap! Clap!
From the second-floor railing, Alexandra clapped her hands to gather the troupe members’ attention. Just like an elementary school teacher clapping three times to start, the members all listened with serious expressions. Even Larilura, who had been playing with the elephant, reflexively straightened her face, then spotted me and her eyes widened.
「Sorry for interrupting your break, everyone.」
Alexandra began with an apology and continued calmly.
「As I said yesterday, Lucregens has been through a lot of incidents and has only recently started to calm down. The city’s atmosphere is quite subdued as a result, and our sponsors just came by to ask if we could start performing from today.」
It seemed that while I was handing over the letter written under Arthur Wayne’s name, that conversation had taken place in the parlor. The members seemed to understand, as they already knew the situation in the city.
「This journey didn’t have any major incidents, so everyone should be full of energy, right? We’re planning to hold a performance this evening, then continue with shows every three days. Anyone have a problem with that?」
“No!”
The members answered in unison. Even the circus animals seemed to grasp the situation and made gestures as if they understood. Only Larilura was fidgeting, mumbling to herself.
Alexandra gave a small laugh and said,
「Larilura. What do you want to do?」
“……Um… well….”
Before the hesitant Larilura could glance at me, I struck first.
“Do whatever you want.”
I fired off the telepathy that was convenient for secret conversations. Larilura seemed to think for a moment longer, whining softly, then giggled and raised her index finger.
「Just today♡」
「Good choice. We’ll match our routine right away, so get ready for rehearsal.」
At Alexandra’s answer—as if she had expected it—the other members let out sighs mixed with both regret and understanding. They had noticed that Larilura had no intention of returning immediately. A circus that never ends and a farewell without parting do not exist. Having lived the wandering life for so long, the troupe members were people accustomed to goodbyes. Without any major commotion, Larilura ran over to me.
“Senior! I’m sorry. It turned out like this!”
“What do you have to be sorry for? If you want to do it, just do it.”
─Tap.
When I lightly flicked her forehead, Larilura finally looked relieved and laughed while holding her brow.
“Ahaha♡ Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to bring back my full pay!”
“Do as you like. Oh, and after it’s over, stay here for the night. It’d be a shame to just chat a bit and do rehearsal then leave.”
I tried to say it as casually as possible, but it seemed she saw right through me. Larilura tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, and gave a smug little smile.
“……Hmmmm? Hehe~?”
“Hmmm or hehe, if you have something to say, just say it. Are you upset or something?”
“No no~♡? It’s not that~. Fufufu♡ Ehehehehe♡”
With her mouth stretched ear to ear in a grin I wanted to smack off her face, Larilura bounced around like a baby squirrel.
“Senior~♡? Be honest. You were worried that today might be the day we part ways, weren’t you? It’s okay! I completely understand your heartfelt feelings~?”
“No, I didn’t really worry that much.”
When I answered with a completely straight face, Larilura’s expression melted like a dog owner watching her puppy act cute.
“Really♡! It’s written all over your face, yet you’re so bad at being honest! Fine. This kind-hearted me will let it slide. You should thank me, okay?”
“Hey, fuck, I really wasn’t worried, why don’t you believe me?”
I already knew she had been the one to follow us first, so why would I worry about that? Well… I had been a tiny, microscopic bit worried that she might miss her old colleagues or the ringmaster and decide to stay here. But if I said that outright, she would probably get all excited and tease me, so I tried to hide it. Judging by how overjoyed she looked, I hadn’t hidden it very well. The road to a poker face is long and treacherous.
More importantly, why does she keep poking my arm? Is this some kind of provocation command?
“You don’t have to worry about such silly things. Being with Senior and the sisters is plenty fun and rewarding for me, you know?”
“Wow, I’m so touched I might faint. Go ahead and wipe those tears.”
I clicked my tongue and handed her a handkerchief. Larilura stuck her tongue out a little, then wiped away the tears that had overflowed from laughing too hard.
“For today’s performance, will you reserve VIP seats and watch? It would be troublesome if you got pickpocketed while completely enchanted by my charm from the regular seats♡?”
“You… if there weren’t people watching right now, I’d give you a proper lesson immediately. You better prepare yourself when you get back?”
I sent the message through telepathy because it was ridiculous, but Larilura half-closed her eyes, made a megaphone shape with her hands, and whispered softly into my ear.
“Senior, you haven’t forgotten our lunch date tomorrow, have you?”
Her telepathic laughter tickled my ear. When I let out a hollow laugh, Larilura blushed faintly with embarrassment she couldn’t quite hide and bloomed into a bright sunflower-like smile.
“Prepare yourself, okay? Since tomorrow is my very first date in my entire life, you’ll have to suffer all day long.”
That too was a private telepathic message whispered so quietly that no one else could hear.