11. Wonderland (31)

I let out a silent sigh after hearing what had happened to Clara.

I'd assumed the fairies had hypnotized her into servitude, but it turned out she'd practically brought this on herself.

"So in the first place, all we did was enforce a lawful contract!"

The fairy seated across from me spoke in a thin, high, chattering voice.

He looked like a small boy with a build similar to Rumi's, wearing oversized pajamas so ill-fitting the sleeves dragged on the floor. His pointed nightcap was also far too large for his head, hiding most of his eyes and nose so that only his mouth was barely visible.

"Clara, fine, but Ruelo? How did she...?"

There was something almost deferential in Rumi's attitude toward him.

She, who didn't hesitate to call Troupe Leader Oberon by name, used honorifics only with this child.

He had introduced himself as the Deputy Leader, and his name was Puck.

"Silver Screen little one, that half-human half-demon is a good child. When she saw that soul hybrid being dragged off with us, she volunteered to come along. She asked if she could work alongside her, see if she could cut the term in half."

"So that's how she ended up working as a staff member...? But why did you do only Clara like... that? I get that she started the trouble, but even so... don't you think Oberon went a bit overboard?"

Rumi glanced toward the corner of the room where Clara ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sat.

At this moment, apparently convinced she was a cat, Clara was crouched on all fours, licking the back of her hand.

"Originally, we placed no sanctions on her. But she ignored the contract and tried to run. Worse, she took a young fairy hostage. In the scuffle, she kicked a gnome in the shin and broke his leg, then punched a sprite so hard she shattered his nose. So our furious leader applied a rather strong hypnosis, and she wound up... like this."

I swallowed a groan.

To think Clara would go that far.

She'd reaped exactly what she'd sown. There was no room for excuses.

"Eee, Oberon! I'm scared!"

When his name was mentioned, Clara cowered behind the chair, trembling.

Puck let out a light whistle in her direction. Her eyes slid shut, and she flopped face-down on the floor, fast asleep.

"In any case, this is a favor for the Silver Screen little one, so I'll return the girl. In exchange, I'd like your help with one of our performances for a few days. A few months from now? I'll dispatch a messenger around then."

"Thank you."

Puck acknowledged her thanks with the barest nod and turned his head toward me.

"And Returnee."

"Uh... you mean me?"

The way Puck addressed people was strange. He ignored proper names and slapped on nicknames of his own choosing.

In my case, it was "Returnee."

"That soul hybrid is your troupe member, yes?"

"Correct."

"Then you must pay a price as well."

"What should I... do?"

"When the Silver Screen little one comes to help us later, you will come with her."

I nodded without hesitation.

Carving out a few days to pitch in on something like that wouldn't be a problem.

"Good. Take the soul hybrid, then. I've lifted the restriction, but it'll take a few days before she's back to normal."

I hoisted the sleeping Clara onto my shoulder and left the room with Rumi.

She let out a long exhale, as if she could finally breathe.

"Haah. I never imagined Puck himself would be here."

"What sort of fairy is he?"

Rumi flicked her eyes at me, perhaps finding my tone irreverent.

"Ever heard of 'The Sandman'? He's a fairy of sleep and an interpreter of dreams. Even among fairies, he's a special being, one who wields immense magical power."

Despite his childish appearance and voice, Puck radiated an oddly sage-like aura. He really did seem different from the other fairies.

"If he's that significant... could the nickname he used for me have meant something?"

"What, Returnee? Oh, that. He probably peeked into your dreams."

"Dreams? Don't tell me... he read my mind?"

I'd raised my voice without realizing it. Rumi looked at me and gave a soft snort of laughter.

"Why? Got a lot of memories you'd rather keep hidden?"

"No, anyone would be concerned about having their memories read."

"Don't worry. The Sandman's dream-reading only picks up broad representations. The nickname he uses changes on the fly, too. Right now you're struggling to find your way home—probably why he called you that."

We made our way to a large guest room on the floor below, where Ella and Ruelo were already waiting. Ella shot to her feet the moment the door opened and rushed over.

"How did it go?"

"We got her back, safe and sound."

I answered as I carefully laid Clara down on the bed.

Ella swept a hand over her chest, visibly relieved.

"Thank goodness."

Her eyes held none of the earlier anger or pity when she looked at Clara now—maybe just a touch of exasperation.

"And they let her go, just like that? I heard everything from Ruelo. Sounds like Clara caused a pretty big scene. The circus people didn't demand anything else from you two, did they?"

"Nothing worth mentioning. They just asked for a few days of help on their end."

"It won't be for another half-year, so you don't need to worry about it."

Ella looked relieved and a little embarrassed all at once—she kicked idly at the leg of an innocent chair.

"It feels like I keep owing you."

"Haha, we did promise to help you, Miss Elphi. And the price has already been paid."

"I paid it?"

I chuckled toward her.

"We said we wanted to see what a living person could do. Sharing that stage with you was an absolute pleasure."

At my words, she must have remembered singing earlier, because she gave a bright, open smile.

"That's true. I had fun too... wait, hold on, Clara?"

"Ow-ow, it hurts, my head hurts."

Clara opened her eyes with a groan. She cradled her head and pushed herself upright, little whimpers escaping her lips.

Ruelo, who'd been worrying about her more than anyone, dashed straight to the bedside.

"Sister, do you recognize me?"

Clara frowned at her.

"Mmm? Luri? What's going on, why are you here? Uh, wait—Deputy Leader?"

Seeing that Clara recognized her, Ella breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like she's come to her senses. You've been through a lot, Clara."

But Clara's response was beyond anything we'd expected.

"Yes! My plan worked! I finally get to see you! Deputy Leader! Deputy Leader!"

"Wha—Clara?"

Clara sprang off the bed and flung herself at Ella, burying her face in Ella's chest and rubbing her cheek against her.

"What—why are you doing this?"

"Pet me!"

"What...?"

"Listen, I tried so hard to protect Luri! Tell me I'm good!"

Ella turned a bewildered look at me. I shrugged.

"They said it'll be a few days before she's fully back to normal."

Clara was no longer walking on all fours, but she still seemed to think of herself as a pet. She kept trying to lick Ella's cheek like a dog.

"I'm so happy! So happy!"

"Ah, Clara, please, just...."

Ella tried to push her away, but Clara kept launching herself forward so headlong it was hard to shake her off.

"I like you, Deputy Leader!"

"Okay, but... this is... get off... ugh, honestly... stand up straight!"

A shout erupted from Ella's mouth like a thunderclap. The voice was firm, and cold.

Clara scrambled backward, white as a sheet. A shudder ran through her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when she saw Ella's expression.

Even we onlookers could feel the chill radiating from her face. Her eyes, her expression, her tone—everything gave off an aura that demanded submission.

I'd seen that face of Ella's before.

One of the entrance exam tasks at the Rekachev Circus School: "Taming the Beast."

Without using the whip the school provided, she'd made the school tiger flop onto its back and expose its belly in five seconds, using nothing but a single verbal command.

Like how dogs supposedly wet themselves just at the sight of a dog-catcher, Domination was a trainer's specialty.

Clara hurriedly retreated and tried to hide behind Ruelo.

"Deputy Leader is scary. Luri, protect me."

"Sister, please don't grab my hair...."

"Deputy Leader doesn't like me, I think."

Clara gazed at Ella with teary eyes.

Ella, seeming to regret it now that she'd made her react like that, immediately softened her expression.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. That Domination slipped out on reflex."

Faced with the abrupt shift in attitude, Clara regarded her with a suspicious look.

"...Deputy Leader isn't mad?"

"Hm? I'm not mad. You know how much I like you, Clara."

"You... like me?"

Clara crept out from behind Ruelo's back, cautious as could be. Then she threw her arms around Ella and sobbed into her chest.

"I was so scared!"

"I know, I know. I was awful, wasn't I?"

"Yeah! You were!"

Once Ella soothed her, it was as if she'd never been crying at all—she beamed and tugged on Ruelo's arm, urging her to go play.

Ella watched the two of them leave the room with an awkward smile.

I could tell the emotion behind it was directed at us.

"So, I have a favor to ask...."

She hesitated a moment, then spoke.

"Would the two of you be willing to look after Clara... at least while we're here?"

"Us?"

Ella scratched the back of her head and sank onto the bed.

"I can keep handling her the way I just did, but... when she comes to her senses later and she remembers any of this, how mortified do you think she's going to be?"

I nodded.

Being treated like a pet by someone younger than her, fawning and acting cute—that would be humiliating beyond words. She might honestly try to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kill herself over it.

And wasn't she already a suicide-attempt survivor?

"Understood."

Not long after, Clara and Ruelo came back in, their arms piled high with bizarre knick-knacks the gnomes had crafted.

"Let's play with these!"

"Until you recover, these two are going to look after you."

"Boo, I like Deputy Leader better. Who are these people?"

"This is Rumi, and this is Oz. They live here and have agreed to show us around."

Clara stared at us. She approached me cautiously and sniffed at my body.

Then she cocked her head and looked at me.

"Are you Master?"

I stroked her head and nodded.

Best to play along for now.

"Yes. That's right, Miss Clara."

At that, her face lit up and she threw her arms around my straw-stuffed torso in a tight hug.

"You are Master! But you look weird."

"That's Personas for you."

"Heehee, right!"

Somehow, almost a full day had passed since we'd arrived.

After we had the dinner the inn provided, we summoned the Ticketer and checked the invitations that had arrived for Ella. In the span of a few hours, several times as many tickets as before had been issued in her name.

Leaving Clara and Ruelo to play in the room, we gathered in the living room to review them. But no matter how thoroughly we combed through them, none of the options was a theater that met our requirements.

"What, this is it?"

"An empty theater is truly hard to come by."

Just as we were nearing the end of the stack, the Ticketer appeared before us again.

He produced one more invitation from his pouch.

Ella reached for it, expression entirely devoid of expectation. But the Ticketer handed it to me rather than to her.

"This ticket has been sent to you, Mr. Oz."

"To me?"

"Oh, looks like your singing's earned you a fan."

I shook my head at Ella's teasing and unfolded the invitation.

Predictably, it hadn't come from some audience member deeply moved by my performance. The sender was the butterfly-masked patrol squad leader I'd met when I first arrived.

On the back was a note asking me to come watch his final performance, scheduled for the evening of the day after next.

Remembering his situation at last, I explained the details to Ella and Rumi.

"A theater belonging to a Persona on the verge of extinction?"

"So he's keeping a theater empty?"

"What if we go the day after tomorrow and ask whether we could use it for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few days?"

Both of them nodded at my suggestion.

We decided to head back out to the plaza tomorrow and try our luck at winning a few more stars, to give ourselves a better shot at persuading him—and with that, we called it a day.