The Circus's Farewell and Sudden News
Yet another visitor arrived while we were catching our breath. “You two. I sincerely thank you for visiting our circus troupe today.”
The person who entered the private room was a middle-aged woman dressed in a sharply tailored tailcoat. With less than thirty minutes until the circus began, none other than the troupe leader, Alexandra, had come in person. Startled, I rose from my seat.
“Oh my. Are you sure this is all right? You could have come after the show ended.”
“I couldn’t possibly take up your valuable time.” Alexandra offered a practiced smile. “Larilura has been placed under house arrest. She will perform in today’s show, but it seems she won’t be able to see you again until tomorrow.”
“I see. I heard you’re leaving soon.”
“Yes. A circus must always be mindful of the city’s atmosphere. I only wish our ace would understand that.”
Alexandra laughed bitterly. Having experienced that stubborn, unpredictable girl’s competitive streak firsthand, I could sympathize.
“You have it rough. We actually came today to say our goodbyes, so I’m glad we got to see you like this.”
“How courteous. I’m honored you came all this way.”
Alexandra performed an elegant bow—probably something she had learned for performing before nobles—and bid us farewell with the same refined demeanor.
“If fate allows, we may meet again someday. Even then, I won’t charge you two a fee, so please tell any troupe members you encounter that you’re my acquaintances.”
“Understood. Ah, and thank you for preparing this private room today. We’ll enjoy the show.”
“Not at all. Then I’ll take my leave. May only blessings await you both.”
With those parting words, Alexandra departed as well.
One by one, the connections we made here seem to be wrapping up.
I hadn’t properly said goodbye to Rozanna, but I’d heard she had already exchanged farewells with Franc and Larilura. With this, we had said our goodbyes to most of the people entangled in this incident.
We waited for the show to begin in the now-quiet private room, feeling a slight melancholy.
“Ladies and gentlemen!! Thank you sincerely for visiting our ‘Circus Flangungkula’ today!!”
The time had come—the circus began. Alexandra appeared on the colosseum stage and greeted the audience, glancing around. Applause followed, then faded.
“Today, the vile villains who have been disturbing this city, Heisvent, have been struck down by the hammer of justice.”
Alexandra’s usual remarks stretched longer than normal. “The heroes who wished to remain anonymous exposed the crimes of the Chrysos Circus troupe that had been robbing citizens of their peaceful sleep, proving that justice still exists in this world. All the kidnapped children have returned to their families.”
The atmosphere that spread through the seats was palpable even from the private room. It was one of joy and elation. It seemed everyone had already heard about what we had done.
“What we will present today will be the final show of our Flangungkula Circus troupe.”
Sighs of disappointment rose from the audience at her brief statement. Alexandra listened to those sighs before continuing.
“Though it may be insufficient, we will put on a circus with all our heart to add a single flower to Heisvent’s celebration. Please enjoy.”
She closed her eyes tightly, refreshed the mood, and raised her voice with heightened tension, holding up a finger.
“A welcoming greeting to those seeing us for the first time!! A joyful greeting to those seeing us again!! A grand show by our proud circus members that will gift the finest memories to all of you who have come tonight!!”
Alexandra brought her feet together and pointed her index finger at the night sky, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Starting nooow──!! The shooow── begins!!”
With those words as the signal, the circus began. Though the content and order were exactly the same as what we had seen yesterday, there was something undeniably beautiful, delightful, and gripping about it.
Ah, I see.
While enjoying the circus with Franc, I realized something. The troupe members performing the circus were also smiling and enjoying the show when the atmosphere wasn’t serious. A circus where everyone gathered here could smile. Surely, that was the greatest circus—one that could never be created through coercion or violence.
***
And so the next day, I woke up in a king-sized bed. The bed at the fifteen-copper inn was softer than I had imagined.
“Twelve hours of REM sleep OFF.”
I closed my pocket watch. I had fallen asleep at midnight and woke up at noon. In other words, twelve hours of sleep from noon to noon. Damn it, I felt like my Gestalt was about to collapse.
“Ugh……”
Moreover, it was rare for me to wake up before Franc. Our Franc, not waking up even after twelve hours of sleep. Was she like this because she had been worrying about me? The thought made my conscience prick, my heart aching, when something suddenly occurred to me.
“What about Larilura?”
Since it was already past noon, it wouldn’t have been strange if the circus troupe had already left the city. Had we overslept and missed saying goodbye before they departed? I got dressed to go downstairs and ask. There was no need to wake Franc.
—Click.
But the moment I opened the door and stepped outside, a clown with a torn mouth was glaring at me.
“What the fuck is this!!!”
“Eeeek?!”
I nearly had a heart attack and assumed a combat stance, but the girl who had been sleeping beside the clown doll woke up in surprise. That psychedelic pink hair! There was no doubt—it was Larilura, who had been freeloading at someone else’s house. Why the hell was she here?
“S-S-Senior? Huh? What? Was I asleep?”
“Seems like it.”
“H-How embarrassing! Could you pretend you didn’t see?”
Larilura wiped her drool and spoke while dusting off her rear. Our circus girl had been sleeping in the hallway in full clown costume. I asked, half in disbelief.
“Were you waiting in front of our door to say goodbye?”
That would be too burdensome. She could have just knocked and come in to say goodbye. But Larilura answered with a bright smile.
“You see☆? I got scolded by the troupe leader yesterday and got kicked out of the circus troupe!”
“—What?!”
Kicked out? From the circus troupe? I was so shocked by the revelation that I forgot Franc was still asleep and gaped. Yet Larilura continued to laugh nonchalantly.
“Aha♡! She said, ‘Until you come to your senses, try being a wandering minstrel and come back to Romania!’ Thanks to that, I’ve been thrown out on the street with only Ringling No. 3, the money I saved, and my clothes☆!”
“I-Is that so? That’s too bad.”
Well, she had only done the things she was told not to, so it wasn’t strange for her employer to fire her. Besides, Larilura was skilled enough to live better than most mediocre adventurers.
But damn, I never thought it would turn out like this.
It felt like we had dragged her into our mess and ruined the career and family register of an innocent girl. Whether or not Larilura sensed my guilt, she twisted her body and asked.
“So, Senior~♥? You know what? Could I perhaps stay with you two for a while?”
“……What do you mean by stay?”
“Aww, nothing grand♡? I’ve never lived on my own before, so I’d like to get some help from Franc and you sometimes~. Ah☆! Of course, I’ll properly repay the favor~? How about give and take♥?”
Larilura acted cute, pressing a finger to her cheek. Though reluctant, I wasn’t enough of a scumbag to tell her to get lost. We bore some responsibility, and frankly, Larilura was a capable girl. It wouldn’t hurt to get closer to her.
“Haa…… Fine.”
So I nodded.
“We’re not exactly great people either, but we’ll teach you what we can. We’re planning to return to Sargadis soon, though. Can you come with us then?”
“Yes~♡! Hooray~!! This is the first time I’ve made friends outside the circus troupe☆!!”
Man, her energy was so bubbly it was almost lethal. My head started to hurt. At least she was full of spirit despite her spicy backstory. It was better than her being depressed. And it didn’t seem like she was forcing herself to act cheerful.
“Don’t worry♥! I have no regrets☆!”
Larilura spoke as if she had noticed my gaze.
“You’re the same, right, Senior? Even if you had suffered losses saving Erica or the other kids, you wouldn’t have minded, would you?”
“No, I would’ve regretted it one hundred percent.”
“What?!”
Larilura looked as if she had heard something unbelievable. She jumped a full meter in place. She really was a restless, bouncy girl. Her body trembled, her eyes welling with tears.
“How could you! Senior, I’m disappointed! How could you say that? No, I understand how you feel! I think the same way! But still, you could at least say ‘I would’ve done the same~’!”
“Sorry, but I try not to tell lies that weigh on my conscience.”
I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. If I had fallen from the profession I had invested in just like Larilura as the price for saving kidnapped children, what would it have been like? In my case, it would probably have been something like having my master’s degree temporarily suspended.
Damn.
Just thinking about it made my stomach churn. I would regret it one hundred and forty percent. I would probably cry myself to sleep every night hugging Franc. So I said,
“I would’ve regretted it. I would’ve regretted it so much I would’ve whined and sobbed. I would’ve wondered every single day why I did that and wailed in tears. ……But.”
If it had truly been the price for doing what I wanted to do, for fighting against the injustice that enraged me, then even if I had only suffered losses for complete strangers,
“But even so, I would’ve been able to smile.”
If I could proudly puff out my chest in front of Franc, I would surely have been able to smile even while regretting it.
“Aha☆! So that’s what you meant~? Really! What is it with you, Senior! You usually act like a dumb fool, but sometimes you say pretty decent things~♡”
Larilura bounced around excitedly after hearing my words. Was she teasing me? She was teasing, right? Should I hit her? Alexandra’s violence permit was probably still valid.
“By the way, how long are you going to keep calling me ‘Senior’?”
“Until I get tired of it! In other words, the day you get demoted from Senior to Nord means my favorability toward you has decreased~☆!”
“No, just call me by my name from the start, you brat.”
“What does it matter♡! Nord isn’t even your real name~!”
“It is Nord here. Calling me Kang Bukho would be harder. If you’re upset, just reveal your real name too.”
At my words, Larilura put on a cheeky expression.
“Oh♥? Don’t tell me, Senior, you were trying to find out my name with that sneaky trick~? Hehe. If you wanted to know that badly, you should’ve just said so★! I would’ve told you anytime~.”
“Vector-Truth—”
“Aah!! I’ll tell you!! I’ll tell you, so don’t do that!!”
Larilura shielded her side with her arm.
“Priscilla! It’s Priscilla! I don’t know my surname!”
“Priscilla?”
When I repeated the name, Larilura puffed out her cheeks.
“Yes~. You know everything, don’t you? You’re going to say it doesn’t suit me, right? Why? It feels like I’m putting on airs that don’t match my impression, doesn’t it? I know you think it’s a name that would suit a demure young lady~?”
“Why. It’s a good name.”
To Larilura, who was openly sulking, I spoke my honest feelings without a single lie.
“The origin of Priscilla is the Romanian word Priscus. Priscus means ‘a virtuous person’ or ‘ancient.’ ”
“Hmm. So what?”
“Priscilla, used as a person’s name, carries the meaning of ‘wishing for a long life loved by many people.’ ”
I declared it. The nuance that reached me through my translation ability was so gentle and affectionate that there was no doubt about this etymology.
—Therefore.
“Priscilla. You were born blessed by your parents.”
As a name to give to a newborn child, Priscilla was one whose meaning was crystal clear.
“────.”
Priscilla—or rather, Larilura—froze in a daze at my words.
—Shashak!!
Then she suddenly covered her neck with her hands.
“Eek? Uh, augh? W-What? What is it? What’s this feeling?”
Her eyes rolled as she stammered. Blood rushed to her nape, and the skin on her face reddened like charcoal thrown onto a hot plate.
“S-Senior! This feeling is weird! My body feels all tingly and I can’t control my limbs?! Why is this happening?!”
“You idiot. Don’t call it cringy when you’re the one who asked.”
“C-Cringy? Is this what you call cringy?”
“No, are you messing with me, you little shit.”
Even when I frowned, Larilura paid no attention and kept kneading her own cheeks up and down.
“It’s cringy! What a strange feeling! When I think about what you just said, my face feels like it’s about to burst like overproofed bread!”
“Then…… don’t think about it……”
Damn. Now that I thought about it, I suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed. Had I already been tainted by this world’s sensibilities? How had I said something like that so seriously?
This damn thing. I feel like I’ve added another dark history.
Even my face was heating up. What should I do in times like this? My elite Vector-master’s brain, tell me the answer.
(Brain: Master, commit suicide immediately!!)
You little bitch. I clicked my tongue and changed the subject.
“Anyway, have you thought about what you’re going to do from now on?”
“I don’t really know☆! Since you two are adventurers, when it’s time to give and take, I’ll probably help with that kind of work too?”
Give and take. What a novel expression. Was this brat’s real name Priscilla Shakespeare? What a cool name. She seemed like a boss monster.
“I don’t know. For now, I’m planning to rest. Unless something urgent comes up, we’ve been running too hard without a break lately.”
I answered. Both Franc and I had been worked too hard these past few days without a single day off. Now that we were about to reach Bronze Class, with the money we had luckily gathered, couldn’t we take a few days of vacation?
“Extra! Extra!!!!”
It was right when I thought that. We widened our eyes at the loud shouting coming from outside the window. This was obvious, but a fifteen-copper inn was located on fifteen-gold land. Had you ever seen a convenience store next to a Chanel boutique? A proper shop needed a location suited to its clientele. In that sense, that shouting was extraordinary. It meant an enormous scandal big enough to spread even to this wealthy neighborhood had broken out.
—Thud thud!
Larilura and I rushed to the window. On the street below, a man in a newsboy cap—whether a newspaper seller or not—was raising his voice.
“—A horde of golems has raided Sargadis!!”
A horde of golems. Sargadis. Raid? I mulled over the words. A horde of golems meant golems had gathered in a group, Sargadis was the city I called home, and raid was a term usually used for a four-drone zergling rush, wasn’t it?
“Hmm.”
After chewing, savoring, and enjoying the words, I spat out the word that had risen in my mind, raw and unfiltered.
“Aww~ C8!”
Let me rest, you bastards.