12. Rekachev Circus School Trial (19)
12. Rekachev Circus School Trial (19)
Simon nodded when he heard that Reina and Ella had started fighting. Everything was proceeding according to his plan.
A week earlier, when Reina had declared her intention to leave the circus troupe, he hadn't been the least bit surprised. It was a moment he'd always known would come. No—he had been anticipating it.
If he formally dissolved the adoption, he would have to give her a reason. Confess his own wrongs like a guilty man? In front of a fake daughter? He had lived his whole life with his nose in the air. That was a situation he would rather die than face.
He wanted her to leave on her own. That psychology had played a part in his harsh treatment of her.
In his mind, he had already rehearsed the scenario of her announcing her departure hundreds of times. But there was a difference between those hundreds of rehearsals and the recent situation. It was Wonderstein's existence.
If she simply left, he wouldn't stop her. But he couldn't stomach the appearance of losing her to that bastard.
"You may leave whenever you like. However, I'd prefer to avoid troubling our colleagues with a family matter. If you, our ace, transfer to another circus, what will the public say? It will also tarnish our sponsor's reputation."
Simon feigned concern for the trouble it would cause those around him. It was a contradictory statement, considering he himself had once tossed her aside toward that 'other circus troupe.'
But Reina fell for Simon's guidance with ease. She had affection for the people of the Golden Carnival. She didn't want her departure to hurt them.
Her resolve faltering, she spoke in a subdued tone.
"I'm not leaving because I'm dissatisfied with the Golden Carnival."
"That's what the public will chatter about. Look at the Frank 10 case."
A small sigh leaked from Reina's lips. Because of that incident, the Golden Carnival's acrobats were currently under siege by the press. Having stayed at Duke Slagbort's villa, they had been mauled the worst among the five troupes. On top of that, if she left now, she had no idea what malicious rumors might spread.
"Th-then what should I do?"
A satisfied smile flickered inside Simon as he pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking.
"We just need to demonstrate our superiority. Then, even if you go to the Monster Circus, no one can say they lost you because the Golden Carnival was inferior. So... crush them in this competition."
"Crush them? But this trial isn't a one-on-one match. What meaning would that have?"
"It's a necessary step for your proper transfer."
Simon explained the 'Rule of Stars' to her. Namely, that transfers between participants in the Grand Prix were only permitted from a troupe with more stars to a troupe with fewer stars. To create that distinction, the Monster Circus had to be eliminated in this test, and the Golden Carnival had to pass it.
Reina chewed her lip after hearing this, then shook her head.
"I don't necessarily have to perform on stage. I just want to be with those people. The competition rules only apply to stage performers, right? I wouldn't mind joining them simply as a worker."
A sharp glint flashed in Simon's eyes. A smirk touched the corner of his mouth. He whispered to her in a subtle, insinuating tone.
"I wonder. Would Wonderstein want you if you weren't an acrobat?"
She sucked in a sharp breath. Even through her mask, he could sense her expression shift. A direct hit. He pressed the attack without giving her a moment's respite.
"The reason he dotes on you is because you're the 'Golden Libra.' If you go there not as an acrobat, will he still welcome you as he does now? Think carefully."
Her body trembled visibly.
Just how would the Troupe Leader treat her if she wasn't an acrobat? Would he still look after her as a 'daughter'?
Their father-daughter relationship was, to begin with, nothing more than a charade he unilaterally indulged. If he decided to stop, she had no grounds to object.
'Let's end this. I can no longer play along with your little game.'
Father leaves again. Because he was a fake father.
She couldn't stand to face that situation again. Even if it was a lie, she wanted to maintain that connection.
I have to become someone he needs.
Reina fell easily for Simon's suggestion. After all, he was the one who had conditioned her to think that way over the past ten years.
"It seems you understand."
Simon added a few more words, planting deep seeds of doubt, anxiety, and fear in her heart. Then he layered on a few more hypnotic suggestions.
"If you crush Ella, he'll do anything to recruit you."
"He might even want to offer you the position of Deputy Leader."
"If she regains her sanity, it may be hard for her to fulfill her role properly. Your appearance might feel like a savior to him."
At times he simply pushed her from behind; at others, he dangled bait before her eyes only to tuck it back into his grasp, steering her thoughts in a particular direction.
"Make the Golden Carnival win."
"...Make the Golden Carnival win."
"Crush the Monster Circus."
"...Crush the Monster Circus."
"Obliterate Ella."
"...Obliterate Ella."
Reina echoed his words with vacant eyes.
And today, she moved exactly as he intended.
Simon stared at the two tokens facing each other on the status board for the 9th arena. As planned, the two members of the Monster Circus had been eliminated, leaving Ella and Reina to fight each other.
Their skill levels were neck and neck. On close inspection, Reina held the advantage in physical conditioning and technical precision, while Ella surpassed her in perceptiveness and reaction speed.
Yet Simon was certain Reina would win. The most crucial factor in a fight was mindset. Inside Reina's heart, a resolve was already crystal clear. She would attack Ella without the slightest hesitation. She wouldn't care if her opponent got seriously hurt.
'Anyway, with his skill, if she gets badly injured, he'll just heal her quickly, won't he? Don't worry, just face the match with confidence.'
'Yes, Father.'
A smug smile spread across Simon's mind.
This would stylishly serve as revenge on Wonderstein, teach that cheeky Ella a lesson, and allow him to offload Reina onto them as if doing them a favor.
"Golden Carnival! First place in 'Ground Ball Outfielder'!"
The 9th Mini Game ended. He laughed heartily along with his colleagues around him.
***
Reina lunged at Ella with a single-minded resolve to break her. She believed without a doubt that this was the path that served everyone's best interest.
The situation unfolded just as Simon had planned.
But there was one thing he had misjudged: Ella's mindset.
He had assumed she would struggle to fight properly against Reina, who was a friend and might even become a future colleague. Contrary to his expectation, however, she charged at Reina with a fierce aggression, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Crash.
The two bodies hurtling toward each other collided in midair. It wasn't just a simple impact. Reina aimed to drive her knee into Ella's chest, and Ella sought to smash her elbow into Reina's chin.
But neither attack landed cleanly. Reina's knee was blocked by Ella's off-hand, and Ella's elbow was parried by Reina's forearm.
Thump.
The two launched themselves in opposite directions. Common sense dictated that after such a collision, they should simply drop straight down. Instead, they used each other's bodies as a 'wall' to push off from.
"Incredible."
The emcee forgot to commentate, watching their fight in a daze. In that instant, they had prepared four layers of strategy simultaneously as they rushed at each other.
First, the method of attacking the opponent.
Second, the method of blocking the opponent's attack.
Third, the method of pushing off the opponent to fall in the direction with the balls.
Fourth, the method of pushing off the opponent to make them fall in the direction without balls.
In the very moment they flew at each other, the two had assessed the positions of the balls scattered across the pool and engaged in a battle of strategic calculation.
"Is that even possible?"
The faces of the Rekachev students serving as course marshals were filled with astonishment. Even though they had witnessed the scene several times already, they found it utterly unfathomable.
When the two first collided in the air, the students had scoffed at them. They thought they had thrown the match due to a pointless pride fight.
Even when they blocked each other's attacks, pushed off, and fell toward where the balls were, the skepticism remained. They figured the impact of falling from that height would surely submerge the ball used as a springboard.
But the ensuing scene made their eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. It was because of the bizarre, ingenious method the two employed.
As they fell, they didn't simply throw their bodies onto the balls. They flew with both legs or both arms stretched out in a straight line.
The moment they made contact with a ball, they skimmed over its surface with their outstretched limbs, applying a rotational force to the sphere. Consequently, their bodies traced a smooth curve over the ball, decelerated to a speed far slower than their initial descent, and flew onward to land gently on another nearby ball.
At first, it was impossible to grasp what had happened. No one could understand why the trajectory of the two, having plummeted onto a ball, curved at the moment of contact and carried them to an adjacent ball.
Just then, the emcee shouted in a trembling voice. As befitting a Rekachev instructor, his knowledge was broader than the students'. He had just realized what the two had done.
"Swingby!"
At his cry, the audience looked baffled, while the students gaped as if struck by a sudden realization.
As the name implied, Swingby was a trapeze technique. It referred to the method by which an acrobat accelerates, decelerates, or changes direction in the air using the rotational motion of a swing.
The two unloaded the vertically-oriented force of their falling energy into the ball, while simultaneously using the horizontally-oriented force to rotate it, thereby reducing the total 'magnitude' of motion and altering its 'direction.'
In other words, by imparting a rotational movement to the first ball, they turned it into a 'trapeze' and used it to fly toward the second ball.
The audience couldn't quite grasp the emcee's explanation. But they could certainly enjoy the magic the two were weaving.
"Whoooaa!"
"This is insane! Crazy!"
"Are those two even human?"
"Unbelievable!"
The spectators watched their duel, their faces practically flushed with excitement.
Since the initial clash, Ella and Reina hadn't rested for a moment. Sharp friction, violent bursts of displaced air, and tearing sounds echoed throughout the dome. They leaped between the balls, clashing and disengaging in rapid succession.
Their movements were so intricately interlocked that it seemed less like a fight and more like a collaborative performance.
Slight differences existed in their strength, technique, speed, strategic reading, and reaction speed, but the overall equilibrium produced this result.
After running around for five minutes like that, both of them seemed to grow tired and stood a good distance apart, catching their breath.
Neither could help but feel a sense of admiration. It had been a very long time since either had faced a peer who could match their skill so evenly.
Yet that didn't curb their animosity for each other. No, it was precisely because they were so skilled that they envied what the other possessed while fearing the loss of what they themselves had.
'If my memory really comes back, and the Troupe Leader makes her Deputy Leader instead of me....'
'It's her the Troupe Leader truly trusts. Mine is just a disposable, fake role-play....'
Their eyes blazed as they faced each other. They couldn't afford to lose. It wasn't simply a matter of pride. This was a fight to determine who was fit to stand beside Wonderstein.
As the two stood glaring at each other, a voice reached their ears.
-Excuse me, you two?
It was Wonderstein. He had been waiting to speak to them while they were fiercely leaping through the air, afraid they might twist an ankle if he interrupted at the wrong moment.
-Haha, the atmosphere seems a bit too grim. The way I see it...
But before he could even begin to speak, they both shouted simultaneously.
"Just shut up, you!"
"Stay out of this, Troupe Leader!"
The two locked eyes. They each recognized what the other was thinking. Both had shouted out of fear that Wonderstein might sound more supportive of the other.
At least on that one point, they were in sync.
A sense of strange solidarity passed between them, and they let out a faint scoff of a smile at each other. But it lasted only for a brief instant.
"Come on! I'll smash you to pieces!"
"You think you can!"
Bwaaang.
The ship's horn blared once more.