Funnyshow of the Circus (17)
I finished the job and slumped down in the alley to rest. “Ah, Nor! So this is where you were!”
As I sat there cracking open two potion bottles like some vagrant and chugging them down, Franc and Larilura returned. Traces of blood that had been splattered across Franc’s cheek and then wiped away were still visible.
“Is it over?”
“Is it over, you ask? Hehe♡! Of course it’s over★!! This Larilura, together with big sis Franc, has completely captured the ringleader of the criminal organization☆!!”
Larilura declared, pointing at Roman who was tightly bound by the puppet’s hands. Erika still seemed to be inside the marionette.
“This side’s finished too. The takedown got a little violent, so Anasiss is unconscious. What about Erika?”
“She’s fine.”
“Good. Just to be safe, can you keep her linked with Puppetry? There’s a chance Anasiss might wake up and try to bite his tongue in one last act of defiance.”
I had severed all of Anasiss’s limbs and cauterized the stumps with Burning Hand. Still, underestimating the life force of someone who had awakened their mana would be a fatal mistake. After all, magic could be cast even without arms or legs.
“What about Bicorn? We’ll need her help to undo the spell, right?”
“I threatened Anasiss into releasing it, but bring her here. I’m too exhausted to move.”
“Hehehut! Leave a task like that to this Larilura☆!!”
Swish—! Thud!
Larilura made her puppet Ringring No. 3 perform a mid-air somersault before landing perfectly. She traced a finger across her lips and spoke.
“Aren’t you going to thank this kind junior for her thoughtfulness? Sen~pai♥?”
“Wow, thank you sooo much.”
“Ahaha☆! You’re very welcome, very welcome indeed♡!”
This girl was ridiculously easy to please. My greeting had worse pronunciation than the time I gave a PPT presentation back in university, yet she seemed perfectly satisfied. Larilura brought the unconscious Erika over.
“For now, I don’t see anything on her☆!”
“Yeah, I don’t see it either.”
There were no traces of magic anywhere on Erika’s body. That was enough. The thoroughly broken Anasiss didn’t seem likely to lash out again anyway.
“Nor. You pushed yourself too hard again.”
Franc said, gently stroking my torn clothes. She appeared to be checking for wounds, but while the clothes were ruined, the injuries had already healed thanks to the potions. Applying them to my own back alone had hurt so much I thought I was going to die.
“It couldn’t be helped. The enemy wasn’t weak enough to subdue without getting hurt.”
“What was that?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
I shrank back in front of Franc’s glare. Ah, God of Manliness. Please forgive my pathetic weakness that cannot talk back to my kind girlfriend’s anger.
Franc spread the remaining potion evenly across my back as she spoke.
“From now on, I absolutely refuse to let you fight alone in places where I’m not present. Even on the days I rested at the inn, you always pushed yourself until you ended up this ragged, didn’t you?”
“Ah, that’s not true. I’ve only been injured this badly once──.”
“Shut the mouth.”
“Yes ma’am.”
I closed my trap. After finishing with the potion, Franc sighed and pulled me into her arms.
“Still, you did well, Nor. You were really cool earlier.”
Franc rested my head against her leather armor and gazed down at me. Her long bangs tickled my forehead. Her adorable lips curved into a giggle.
“Now that everything’s over, you’ll leave the remaining annoying chores to us and rest properly, right? Understood?”
“Yeees.”
I almost dropped a “maman” line, but stopped myself because Larilura was watching.
Larilura floated apart from our lovey-dovey atmosphere like a rubber duck bobbing in a bathtub.
“Umm~? If you two are about to enter romantic kiss time, should Ringring and I look the other way~?”
“Forget it, kid. More importantly, Larilura, check if this is the real thing.”
Lying with my head pillowed on Franc’s chest, I pulled a small paper booklet from my pocket. After subduing Anasiss, I had searched him for evidence, and this was the only thing I found.
The title read Even a Monkey Can Do It: Court Jester. Volume Four──Enchantment Magic Edition.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah──?!?!?!?!?!?!”
─Boing!!
Larilura sprang up with both feet together like a pirate in a roulette wheel. It gave off a ding-dong-ding kind of vibe.
Th-this, this is perhaps!! Perhaps──?!
“It’s a drop item from Anasiss, but I’m not sure if it’s genuine. Why are you speaking Romanian?”
Sorry!! I was so shocked that Romanian slipped out☆!
Just how surprised did she have to be for her language module to glitch like that? As I thought this, Larilura rushed over, stared at the book in my hands, and panted heavily.
─Thud!!
“Let me see! Can I look?! Can I read the contents?!”
“I’m letting you, aren’t I? Just confirm if it’s real.”
“Yeees♥!!”
Damn, why was she so happy? It was almost creepy. I handed over the text with a slightly disgusted expression.
─Spin!
Larilura’s eyes raced across the pages as she speed-read.
“N-n-n-no mistake!! No mistake at all!! This matches the handwriting in the Volume Two I own!!! It’s definitely a handwritten copy of the first edition made personally by Crown Crown’s direct disciple!!”
“If it’s a copy of the first edition, doesn’t that mean some content is missing?”
Since it was basically an illegally shared text, I found it a bit suspicious. In this world, historical fabrication was practically a passive skill for archaeologists. Even on Earth, the rise of empirical scholarship was a relatively recent development in the grand span of human history.
“Missing content, you say?! Missing content?! The first-edition copies are literal treasures of humanity! Crown Crown never left teachings in book form, so his disciple compiled his words and had them transcribed for further disciples!! You can’t buy this with money!!”
“So, in simple terms, it’s the real deal?”
“Yes!! It couldn’t possibly have been mass-produced, so this has to be genuine!!”
“Kiyaaatmeshi~!!”
Forgetting my exhaustion at those words, I jumped up and started dancing! Enchantment magic! It was enchantment magic! If this was the real thing, it contained the techniques needed to process my rune magic into magic items!! Who would have thought one of my immediate goals would be solved so easily!!
“Kukukukuku!! Magic items are all taken care of!!”
This was truly supreme bliss. Watching me regain my energy and rejoice, Franc clapped with a warm, satisfied smile.
“Well done, Nor. Now you can make me a mask with Impression Camouflage, right?”
“Huh?”
Was that how it worked? Franc’s smile was cheerful, but her eyes were dead serious. My body stiffened, but it was still something to celebrate. So I decided to stay excited.
“Y-yeah!! I’ll make you a whole bunch!!”
“I don’t know what it is, but congratulations, senpai~♡!”
Larilura offered her congratulations too.
─Clap clap clap!
I gave Larilura a sour look as she applauded.
“You brat, where do you get off slacking? Hand the book back.”
“Tsk. It was a joke~ A jo♥ke.”
Larilura pulled the book from her cleavage and returned it. Fuck, when the hell had she stashed it there? Ugh, as expected of a Crown Mountain otaku. Her greed was seriously filthy.
─Thud thud thud!!
As I took the booklet back and put it away, I heard footsteps. The clank of armor told me it was the city guards. I snapped out of my victory dance.
“F-Franc! Do I have any costume to change into?!”
“Ah, I grabbed a few robes just in case. I folded them neatly and stored them inside Ringring No. 3. Larilura?”
“Yes~♡ Here it is!”
Larilura produced the clothes. Was the inside of that puppet some kind of mobile warehouse? Anyway, I was saved. I hurriedly changed and even put on Tabula’s mask. Franc also donned a mask to conceal her identity.
“……Ah. We’re screwed.”
Only Larilura made a despairing face while looking at Ringring No. 3, whose massive size made it impossible to hide. Even if we covered our faces and bodies, that thing would render it meaningless. No matter what, the cleanup after everything was over was always the most annoying and exhausting part.
***
The guards said they had discovered the ledger of illegal transactions inside the devastated circus troupe.
“When we entered, the animals suddenly became docile.”
The middle-aged man who appeared to be the guard captain spoke.
“So we searched the premises for the criminals, and people with… pardon me. People with physical disabilities were protecting the animals and explained the situation.”
“Those people?”
“Yes. They said they saw it as an opportunity once the trainers were dead and the magician and leader who held real power had fled.”
It made sense. Without that chance, they would have suffered in the circus for the rest of their lives. To think the victims of the freakshows, who faced discrimination from the world, would wish to escape on their own. It seemed those bastards’ cruel abuse hadn’t stopped at animals and children.
“The details you provided and the stories from the kidnapped children all matched perfectly. There is no reason to suspect anything.”
Having said that, the guard captain stood up. What? After speaking so nicely, was he about to slap handcuffs on me? I tensed as the broad-shouldered middle-aged man rose, but the captain suddenly shouted to the guards gathered along the street.
“All personnel──!!! Attention!!!!”
“Attention!!!!!”
─Stamp!!
The guards matched their steps with practiced motion. Honestly, their feet weren’t perfectly synchronized and it looked a bit sloppy, but their expressions were as serious as independence fighters.
The captain, having called the guards to attention, turned to me and gave a crisp, disciplined salute.
“All personnel──!!! Salute!!!!!!”
─Stamp! Stamp!!
More than thirty guards snapped into perfect salute formation toward me. As I blinked in confusion, the captain spoke.
“All of us from the Heisvent City Guard sincerely thank Sir Arthur Wayne and the three of you for your cooperation.”
“Huh? Y-yes, yes……”
I hadn’t expected to receive such greetings, so my reaction was somewhat awkward. But then the captain bowed deeply from the waist.
“Before I am a guard, I am a grandfather to a child. On behalf of all the citizens…… truly, truly, thank you.”
“No, um…. uh…. I-it’s nothing.”
Instead of thanks, couldn’t they just give me money? I was so flustered the thought actually crossed my mind. As if unaware of my inner thoughts, the captain straightened and continued.
“Half of the Chrysos Circus’s assets will be used for the victims’ rescue and return fare to their hometowns. The remaining half will be donated to Sir Wayne.”
“Huh? Ah, ahem. Ahem. I see.”
I held back from asking excitedly. After receiving such sincere gratitude, acting materialistic would have been inappropriate. The captain seemed to understand my feelings and gave a small chuckle.
“I will visit again once the amount has been calculated. Until then, why not stay in Heisvent? If inn fees are a concern, our guard unit will collect donations to cover them.”
“Ahem. That’s welcome news indeed.”
I cleared my throat and graciously accepted while pretending otherwise. Free inn plus bonus money? The deeds I had performed were heroic enough that refusing would have been difficult. I couldn’t exactly say “It was only natural” and coolly walk away. Similar incidents might happen again. If I spouted nonsense like “A hero doesn’t seek reward” and people who worked hard received no compensation, it would cause problems. Therefore, this was an act to establish a proper precedent. It was definitely not my personal greed. Nope. Not at all.
“You foolish child!!”
─Slap!
My gaze shifted to the corner of the guards at the sudden scolding. There, Erika was being thoroughly lectured by an elderly man in priestly robes.
“Not only did you sneak out and bother the circus performers, but you caused trouble for so many people! You should recognize your own fault!!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!”
Erika wept and rubbed her hands together desperately before the old man—most likely the orphanage director. It was difficult to intervene and call it child abuse. Tears were streaming down the old man’s face as well.
The captain and I fell into a somber mood. On the opposite side, however, a similar yet completely different atmosphere flowed.
“──Larilura?”
“Yes!!! Leader!!!”
Kneeling on the ground, Larilura straightened her back completely at Alexandra’s words and answered. Fuck, even when I was a new recruit getting torn apart by the platoon leader, it wasn’t this intense.
Alexandra spoke while barely containing her anger.
“Didn’t I tell you? You must not get involved in dangerous matters or meddle in other people’s affairs.”
“Yes!!! You always told me!!!”
“Didn’t I tell you last time? Our job is to bring smiles to the guests, not to seek out crying children in alleys and make them smile.”
“……Yes, yes.”
“Answer once. And your voice is too small.”
“……Yes!!!”
“Huuuuu……. Yet you still stuck your nose into the city’s affairs, entrusted the victims to the circus troupe, and even ran off again……”
Alexandra sighed as if suffering from a headache. Then she approached me. The guard captain discreetly stepped aside.
“I am Alexandra Leovantes.”
“I am Arthur Wayne.”
There was no way she wouldn’t recognize me. Franc had gone with her earlier to entrust the children, after all. Her acting as if we were meeting for the first time was probably consideration. I was grateful for it.
“Regarding this matter──”
“I will not accept an apology. We received tremendous help from Larilura, after all.”
I stopped Alexandra before she could apologize. I didn’t know how she felt about the situation. But without Larilura, things would not have resolved so smoothly. It would be one thing to offer thanks, but accepting an apology was completely out of the question.
“──Thank you for your consideration.”
Alexandra said only that. Then she glanced at the dejected Larilura.
“That child cannot ignore orphans. For a circus performer who travels from city to city, it is a significant flaw.”
“It may be a flaw for circus leader Alexandra, but I rather like it. Someone who understands others’ pain would also know how to show consideration, wouldn’t they?”
“That may be true. That child… was an orphan herself, after all.”
“Huh?”
I was momentarily startled by the sudden revelation. But it made sense. Larilura had never called Alexandra “mother,” and she spoke about orphanage life as if she knew it well. So that was why she said she wasn’t certain of her own age.
Alexandra shook her head as though holding back a sigh.
“Thank you for indulging that willful child’s stubbornness. These are not words of apology but of gratitude from me. Farewell.”
With only those words, Alexandra left, taking Larilura with her. Proper discipline would likely begin back at the inn. The deathly pallor on Larilura’s face as she secretly waved to me seemed to confirm it.
“Mr. Wayne. We will escort you back.”
Once the conversation ended, the guard captain approached again. He smiled confidently, his face covered in a thick beard.
“We’ll guide you to Heisvent’s finest inn.”
Franc and I were led to an extravagant high-class inn that cost fifteen coppers per night. It looked like we would be staying in this city for a few more days.