7. Trial of the Rose Windmill Cabaret (9)
7. Trial of the Rose Windmill Cabaret (9)
The situation mirrored what had happened at Viscountess Bergson's manor.
Cure someone else's illness, extract payment in return.
Ella had a rough idea what he would ask for.
A forfeit victory, most likely.
The detailed rules included provisions for forfeiture.
Nothing in the regulations prohibited it.
It was a far cry from the worst-case scenario she'd envisioned.
No one dead. No one injured.
If anything, this was a good outcome.
Ruelo's illness would be cured, and they would pocket their first star without lifting a finger.
A mutually beneficial deal.
And yet...
Why did a corner of her heart feel hollow?
Ella recalled the day Wonderstein first showed her the script.
She'd dismissed him, convinced a demon who couldn't even grasp human emotions could never write a proper script.
The moment she read the pages he handed her, that conviction melted away like snow.
His script stood shoulder to shoulder with the works of masters.
No—the boldness of its dialogue and scene composition was so brilliant it seemed to leapfrog entire generations.
Closing the final page, she could not deny she had fallen under its spell.
With him, she'd thought, they could genuinely aim for the Circus Grand Prix Finals.
But she could not easily admit that thought.
He was the enemy who had slaughtered her neighbors and friends.
She could not forgive herself for wanting to stand beside him.
She stewed in that torment for days, gnawing at her heart alone.
Looking back now, that entire agonized struggle made her feel like a fool.
He might possess a demonic talent for the circus, but he had no affection for it.
To him, the circus was nothing more than a means to an end.
He had no intention of testing the results of the grueling month they'd spent training.
No—she should have seen through him from the start, the moment he asked for results in a single month.
—Because I trust you, Miss Ella.
Horseshit.
He never cared how hard they worked, or what they achieved.
He possessed enough power on his own to handle the competition.
She and the other troupe members were mere scarecrows for a demon deceiving the world.
Just like pretending to be an ordinary, decent young man.
Had he been secretly laughing at her this whole past month, watching her burn the midnight oil, desperate to produce results no matter what?
Tch, as if there wasn't a much simpler way?
"You said you'd do anything? Heh heh. Good."
Wonderstein accepted Minova's offer.
Ella ground her teeth.
Holding back the sting of tears in her eyes was another matter entirely.
He approached the girl in the chick-print pajamas, curled up asleep on the corner bed.
His hand touched her throat.
A spasm seized the muscles of her neck.
Her complexion drained to a ghastly blue, then darkened to black with something like a groan.
A few seconds passed.
Wonderstein withdrew his hand.
"Done."
"Ah... It didn't work?"
Minova's face twisted in despair.
The possibility that the illness had been cured in so brief a span seemed not to have crossed his mind.
Wonderstein glanced at his expression and gave a small snort, shaking his head.
"I meant the treatment is complete."
"Complete...?"
"See for yourself."
Minova stepped closer to his daughter, disbelief written across his face.
The agony of the tumor rooted inside her had always made her frown in her sleep, her breathing ragged, her brow beaded with cold sweat.
Every glimpse of her like that had gnawed his heart to rot.
Yet here she lay now, her expression utterly serene, her breath soft and shallow.
"Truly... truly... cured?"
"Yes."
Minova barely choked back a sob as he spoke.
"Is... is it real? In the blink of an eye...? C-could there be side effects?"
"Heh heh. How would I dare deceive a man who swears he'll curse me out and come at me to kill me if I cross him?"
Minova's face turned sheepish at the joke.
"Th-that was... ahem, w-well, yes... A-anyway, thank you... Truly, thank you."
After saying that, he stared blankly at his daughter again.
He still could not believe it.
The sight of his daughter sleeping peacefully.
They'd said even those harsh drugs could barely prolong her life.
Minova swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
"I'm prepared to do anything I promised."
"Are you now?"
Wonderstein watched him quietly, a smile playing on his lips, then spoke.
"We will win the match three weeks from now."
"W-well, of course..."
Minova sighed, having half-expected this.
"W-we'll forfeit..."
No one could call him cruel for this.
In truth, weighed against the life of the daughter Wonderstein had saved, the price was hardly a grand one.
If you got eliminated, you simply moved to the back of the line and waited your next turn.
A team eliminated in the second or fourth week, or one arriving from another city, would be their next opponent.
It only wasted about three more months. Bearable.
Wonderstein smiled, as if satisfied by his declaration.
"Oh? Forfeit? So you're giving up?"
He repeated it back with shameless incomprehension, as though the situation made no sense to him.
'Right. He's making sure there's no mistake—this isn't some backroom deal or blackmail.'
Swallowing his humiliation, Minova nodded.
"Y-yes..."
"What reason do you intend to announce?"
"Ill health..."
As Minova fumbled for a shabby excuse, Wonderstein shook his head.
"No, let's go with this. Because our Deputy Leader is far cuter."
Minova's jaw dropped at the absurd remark.
"What... did you say?"
Ella was equally startled.
She let out a silent scream fierce enough to make Jjiksun jolt.
The man was insane!
What was he suddenly talking about?
Minova also couldn't grasp what nonsense he was spouting.
"Y-your Deputy Leader... is cuter?"
Wonderstein gave a light grin and nodded.
"It's true, isn't it? Frankly, our Miss Ella is a thousand times, ten thousand times cuter than that little pipsqueak."
Minova's face crumpled in fury.
He could endure anything else, but no one touched his daughter.
"You son of a bitch! Don't make me laugh! My Ruelo is cuter!"
"The best she can do is sit still on someone's shoulder. Our Deputy Leader is competent. She handles every task flawlessly."
"My Ruelo can do that too!"
"Miss Ella even sings beautifully."
"My daughter sings beautifully too! Ruelo! Wake up! Hurry and sing that song we practiced..."
At his enraged shout, Ruelo rubbed her eyes and stirred awake.
"Nngh... Daddy, what... I'm tired..."
"I'd advise against pushing her right now. It hasn't been long since she was treated. Her stamina will be severely depleted."
At his words, Minova's eyes flew wide open.
"You should've said so sooner, you idiot! Ruelo! Don't sing! Go back to sleep this instant!"
"Daddy, noisy..."
Ruelo let out a fussy whimper and fell back asleep.
Wonderstein looked at her and clicked his tongue. Tsk-tsk.
"Our Miss Ella has excellent stamina, too..."
"Grrk! Are you trying to test my patience?"
"Haha, you said you'd forfeit, but you don't seem able to accept losing, so here we are. Shall we make a wager, then? If you win the match three weeks from now, I'll retract my comment."
"Grrrr! Fine! I swear by Kirkeus, I will fight you with everything I have!"
"Good."
Thus ended the conversation between the two troupe leaders.
***
We exited the hotel where the Morning Star Circus was staying.
Thanks to the other members barely holding Minova back from kicking my backside, we managed to slip out unharmed.
*Sub Quest — Rose Windmill Cabaret's Trial
: Pass the trial and claim a star.
Clear Condition
: Pass the Rouge preliminaries on the first attempt.
Success Reward
: All circus members gain the [Demonic BGM] Trait. Potency scales with Fame earned during the performance.
Failure Penalty
: None.
This quest was similar in nature to the 'First Performance' quest we'd completed in Axville.
Specifically, the reward scaling with Fame earned during the show.
Considering the essence of performance, that condition was par for the course.
So the moment Minova mentioned forfeit, my heart sank.
Win that way, and sure—the quest might technically clear—but the reward would obviously be pitiful.
To grab attention and climb the Fame ladder, we needed a fierce, back-and-forth rivalry with our opponent, a spectacle people would talk about.
More than anything, for the troupe members, this was invaluable experience.
What does a newbie player starting the game for the first time gain by cheesing their way past the first Boss Battle?
So I provoked him to fire up his motivation.
Thanks to that, the match was set without any real trouble.
Him swearing on the name of Kirkeus was unexpected.
I'd been hoping he'd just get carried away enough, then feel a little guilty and throw the fight.
Throwing a tantrum over something as minor as me calling his daughter less cute.
His doting-dad tendencies exceeded all predictions.
About a minute into our walk, a loud voice rang out from the hotel entrance behind us.
"Hey! Troupe Leader Wonderstein!"
I turned my head. Minova had come sprinting out, gasping for breath.
What now, coming for Round Two?
His next action, however, caught me off guard.
Because it was something I'd never have expected from a character like him.
"Thank you!"
With those words, he dropped to the ground and pressed his forehead to it in a deep bow.
Behind him, his troupe members wore stunned expressions.
If my own face were as flexible, I suspect I'd have worn a similar one.
I gave him a nod in return, then turned and walked on toward the hotel.
The promise to cure Ruelo had come before the quest appeared.
At that point, we didn't know the trial's content or who our opponent would be.
My reason for stepping in was nothing special.
I simply wanted to give a small gift.
—I would do anything for my child! Please! I beg you, heal my child's body!
Was I five? Or six?
So she was around Ruelo's age back then.
I had no desire to leave an emotional debt hanging over the head of an opponent we'd soon have to face.
So I stepped forward, that's all.
We were nearing the spot where the carriage had dropped us off earlier when a familiar silhouette appeared in the distance.
"Why is Miss Ella out here?"
At my question, her face reddened slightly as she averted her eyes.
"No reason. Just worried you might do something weird again... Why did you go to the Morning Star Circus?"
"Nothing major. I went to declare a little war."
"...I-is that so?"
She stammered oddly.
Was she worried Wonderstein had blurted out something strange?
I deflected lightly to reassure her.
"Just... that what we have is better than what they have."
"...Ah, I see."
Ella abruptly turned her gaze away and walked ahead of me.
I smiled quietly and followed her.
A few minutes passed in silence.
She spoke up.
"About this trial... do you have some clever scheme?"
"Hmm? That secret winning strategy I always use."
"And that is?"
"Entrust it to my Deputy Leader."
"...You're insane."
Her face turned bright red as she quickened her pace, striding ahead.
And for some time after, she said nothing at all.
I'd tossed it out as a half-joke, half-truth, but from her perspective, she had every right to be angry.
Pile all the hard work onto someone else, then prattle on about trust—even I'd be pissed.
Still, what could I do?
In this circus troupe, there was no one else like her.
We walked the rest of the way and reached the hotel.
The sign Maya had been painting was finished and hung above the entrance.
Seeing it, we both lost our words.
<Wonderstein's Monster Circus>
A decent title.
The typography was excellent.
The illustration, likewise, left nothing to criticize.
If one tiny thing nagged at me, perhaps... the painter's personal bias had been a little too heavily splashed across the canvas?
"Maya, that little brat...!"
Ella ground her teeth.
Front and center, the largest illustration depicted me swinging a staff.
Next to it, the second-largest figure was Maya, clutching a palette in one hand and brandishing a paintbrush in the other, daubing color onto the empty air.
The problem was the troupe members.
This was very clearly a Monster Circus, yet the members were all crammed into a corner, occupying barely a sixteenth of the total area.
"She didn't even draw me at all!"
Ella shouted indignantly.
"You're right there."
"Huh? Where?"
I laughed under my breath and pointed to the corner of the sign.
A chibi character with a steamed-bun face, even smaller than Dwarf Yobel, stood with her arms crossed, a mouse in her pocket and a pigeon perched on her shoulder.
An unmistakable caricature of Ella.
She was so tiny you could easily miss her at a glance.
"Hahaha, it's exactly like you!"
"Like me where? Hey! Maya! Get out here right now!"
Fuming, Ella stormed ahead, and I followed her into the hotel.