8. Curse Plague (2)
8. Curse Plague (2)
Ella unfolded a page of Bread and Circus.
Inside was a special feature on the circus troupes that had earned three stars from the Christian Guide.
Unlike our page, which had a single black-and-white photo slapped on it, theirs had color photographs printed on glossy paper that made the whole thing look far more premium.
Perhaps because an artist had retouched them with paint, the figures in the photos looked vividly alive, too.
She summarized the article for us.
The first was a troupe called the 'Golden Carnival.'
It was the only project-based circus troupe among those that had received three stars.
Because of the Morning Star Circus, the term 'project-based' carried an image of being rootless and shallow, but this troupe operated on an entirely different scale and level of support than the Morning Star.
A professional manager with long experience running large theaters handled its administration, the circus owned its own airship for traveling between cities, and a dedicated medical team was attached for the members' health and safety.
The members, too, were acrobats famous enough to be compared to the leaders of other troupes.
I looked at the photo printed in the magazine.
A middle-aged man with a monocle sported a stylish mustache.
The man standing at the pinnacle of the current circus world, the magician 'Lord Fantastic.'
He was the leader of the Golden Carnival.
He possessed no fewer than four Inspiras—something most people struggled to obtain even one of in a lifetime.
The pinnacle, huh...
I felt a surge of competitive spirit for some reason.
The second three-star circus troupe was 'Rekachev 25.'
It was composed of graduates from the prestigious 'Rekachev Circus School.'
Only one person could join per year.
Only that year's top graduate.
In other words, Rekachev 25 was a circus troupe made up of 25 acrobats, from the first top graduate down to the twenty-fifth.
"However, it has been revealed that the student known as this year's 26th top graduate refused to join. According to rumors, they returned to their hometown..."
As she read the article, Ella's face went pale.
She was from a circus school in a small countryside town.
Hearing about a troupe composed solely of top graduates from a prestigious circus school, even someone as bold as her seemed to feel a bit overwhelmed.
The last of the three-star troupes was a place called the 'Wheel Circus.'
It was the traditional circus of the Gypsies, a nomadic people, and the oldest circus troupe in the world. With the entire 4,000-strong tribe said to belong to the troupe, its sheer scale was arguably the largest in the world.
As I listened to Ella's explanation, I nodded whenever a familiar name came up.
In TT1, some of them appeared as supporters, and some had their minds corrupted and appeared as enemies.
But this was the first time I was hearing the detailed history of the troupes they belonged to.
The Golden Carnival, staffed with first-class pros centered around the industry's top talent.
Rekachev 25, an ultra-elite, small, select group.
The largest and oldest, the Wheel Circus.
Not a single one looked like an easy opponent.
If we had faced them in the cabaret showdown, would we have been able to win the badge?
We were the ones who had barely scraped a win against the Morning Star.
Winning would have been utterly impossible.
I looked at Ella and offered a wry smile.
I remembered the words she had so confidently declared three months ago.
She had said that if we could perform my script at 100%, winning was possible.
"Could we beat even those three troupes?"
She, who had been standing there blankly after reading the article, glanced at me. Then she composed her expression into a serious one and nodded.
"...Of course."
"Miss Ella, don't you not know their actual skill level?"
At my question, she frowned for a moment and then stared off into the distance like she was searching her memory.
"I saw a Rekachev 25 show a few years ago. Though they were called Rekachev 22 back then."
"I see."
"If I were to score it by that standard... hm, about 88%?"
88%, huh.
Indeed, a place worthy of receiving three stars.
It was the highest score I had ever heard her give.
"If 22 people were 88%, that's 4% per person. Now that they're 25, they must be 100%, right?"
At my words, Ella grumbled in a sulky voice.
"Nonsense... who calculates it like that?"
"Haha, but three more people have joined, so they must have improved since then, yes?"
"Probably. Maybe even over 90%... If the 26th had joined, it might really have become 100%..."
"Pardon?"
At my question, Ella startled and shook her head furiously.
"Ah, no. It's nothing... Anyway, the preliminaries end on May 31st the year after next. We have to work harder."
I nodded at her words.
The final destination of the Main Quest didn't seem far off, yet there was still a long way to go.
After clearing up our lunch spot, we boarded the wagon again.
The sun set earlier than usual on the mountain pass.
We had to hurry if we didn't want to camp out in the forest.
"Troupe Leader!"
Just as we were about to get the wagon moving, Yurakne came running toward me. She was clutching a familiar thermos in her arms.
The moment I saw it, I almost let out a sigh.
That thermos was an item I had used heavily over the past three months.
And it was also an item I never wanted to see again.
"I took some time earlier to brew some tea."
She beamed and held out the thermos.
I couldn't not accept it.
"Why didn't you rest..."
I spoke with genuine, heartfelt regret.
She looked at me with an expression that said she understood everything.
"You haven't asked for tea once since we started traveling. Hehe, I know it's because you were being considerate of me."
'Not really... I genuinely didn't want to drink it...'
The reason I no longer drink tea is that I completed the 'Yurakne's Devotion' quest, which was the reward for reaching Affection level 15 with her.
*Sub Quest - Yurakne's Devotion
: Yurakne pours increasingly deeper devotion into every cup you drink.
Completion Condition
: Drink 1,000 cups of tea personally brewed by Yurakne (with at least a 1-hour interval between cups).
Reward upon Success
: [Yurakne's Devotion] +0.1% per cup
Penalty upon Failure
: None
A quest that was added when her Affection level reached 15.
Thanks to diligently drinking tea for three solid months, I managed to complete the 1,000 cups, and as a result, I was able to raise the trait she provides, 'Yurakne's Devotion,' to its maximum level.
Trait: Yurakne's Devotion
Target: Tea personally brewed by Yurakne
Effect: Upon drinking the tea, Wonderstein's three basic abilities increase by 100% for 1 hour.
Requirement: Yurakne's Affection level 15
My three basic abilities doubling for one hour.
At first, I thought it was a good trait.
But once we actually started preparing for performances, there was nowhere to use combat power.
What good was being stronger and tougher?
My goal was to advance into the Circus Grand Prix, not world conquest.
My gamer's instinct, which couldn't rest until the quest in front of me was cleared, drove me to chug it down, but it was pure agony.
Seeing the completed quest window, I was genuinely proud—at the thought of never needing to drink tea again.
But Yurakne, thinking I was holding back out of consideration, secretly brewed tea for me like this.
Looking at her face, beaming a bright smile, I couldn't bear to tell her I didn't need it and to take it back.
Remembering the devotion she had shown in brewing 1,000 cups of tea for me, I accepted the thermos she offered.
"I'll drink it sparingly. So... from now on, you don't need to do this while we're traveling."
"Hehe, yes, Troupe Leader!"
Watching Yurakne's retreating figure as she walked away with a pleased hum, I stuffed the tea-filled bottle into the inner pocket of my cloak.
With the sea on our right and the mountains on our left, we drove along the winding hill road.
***
By the time Maya opened her eyes, the sun had already disappeared entirely beyond the mountains.
The inside of the wagon was so dark she could barely make out human forms.
She heard a raspy breathing sound from the opposite seat.
Six drooping arms.
Judging by the silhouette, it was Yurakne.
Maya clutched her churning stomach and stood up.
She could sketch a perfect three-dimensional space in her head from a single brief glance, courtesy of her eidetic memory.
So closing her eyes was not a perfect countermeasure against motion sickness.
The shaking had stopped, but the nausea still lingered.
She opened the wagon door and stepped outside.
It was dim outside.
The light from the lantern hanging on the wagon barely let her see what was in front of her.
The Ratmen who had been driving the wagons were sitting on the driver's benches, nodding off.
Maya walked forward, careful to avoid the horses as they shook their heads.
Wonderstein was standing at the very front of the group.
He had just taken a torch and a bundle from Sven and Bandik.
"Ah, Miss Maya, you're awake?"
Wonderstein smiled when he saw her.
A faint smile also graced Maya's lips.
To anyone else, it might have looked like a sullen, half-asleep face...
She stared quietly at Wonderstein and spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"To the village. To ask permission to use the clearing inside the palisade as a campsite."
It wasn't easy for the monster members to enter a village.
It was different from the city.
The smaller the village, and the more rural and far from the main road it was, the more hostile people were to outsiders.
Especially, drifters like them were never allowed to enter in a group. Because no one knew when they might turn into a band of robbers.
Let alone the monster members.
Just being allowed to use the palisade was something to be grateful for.
This world was weakly connected to the Abyss, the habitat of demons.
No one knew when or where a demon might tear through the space barrier and appear.
Places where strong human spiritual traces remained had a lower probability of that happening.
And dark places with weak spiritual power had a higher probability.
The forest at night was such a place.
Of course, a higher probability was still relative, and the chance of encountering a dangerous demon was very low.
Mostly, it was just weak creatures that might nip at you like a lynx before being banished back to the Abyss.
Honestly, the most earnest reason for wanting to sleep near a village was to avoid the flying insects and night dew, rather than any demons from the Abyss.
Maya, who had been constantly groaning in the wagon from motion sickness until now, hadn't realized Wonderstein went to this much trouble every day to find a place to sleep.
Because in Rouge, she had never felt that the members were so ostracized.
"Have you always gone alone, Troupe Leader?"
"Haha, originally, Miss Ella used to come with me, but today, for some reason, she didn't sleep midway through and is now completely out cold. So I have to go alone. Honestly, I didn't expect the sun to set so quickly. I underestimated the mountain."
As soon as his words finished, Maya spoke.
"I'll go with you."
Wonderstein looked at her and smiled gently.
"You can rest in the wagon."
"No. I slept a lot. And... I hate the wagon."
"Well, I won't be bored, so that's good for me."
Maya threw a thin coat over her shoulders and came out of the wagon.
It was July, but they had come north, and with the mountains so close, the nights were chilly.
Wonderstein and Maya, the two of them, walked together toward the place where the firelight flickered and smoke rose.