Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Money and Prestige
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As they entered high society,
countless nobles' gazes focused on them.
It was frightening.
They were afraid of being mocked. Afraid of being despised. Afraid of being ridiculed.
They were afraid to meet those eyes.
Afraid to hear the words spilling from those throats.
Afraid to see those curled lips.
Living was a frightening thing.
At least, for the slaves in that place, it was.
"You are the most radiant ones here."
And into the ears of those slaves,
came the voice of a con artist brimming with conviction.
Strangely, that brought them relief.
Manipulating people's anxieties and earning their trust
is what con artists do best.
The slaves tuned their ears to the con artist's voice piercing through the high society's music.
"No woman adorned with flashy jewels, no gentleman in a splendid hat, is as special as you."
He told the slaves that they were special.
Only then could the slaves begin to scrutinize the nobles' expressions.
The mockery or sneers they had feared... were nowhere to be seen.
All around were gazes of fear, anxiety, admiration, curiosity, and wonder at the unfamiliar.
"You possess something others couldn't wear or even buy."
With that, their tension began to ebb away bit by bit.
They felt a new sensation filling the void left behind.
Their bodies still trembled,
but it was no longer from tension.
It was the tremble of excitement.
They wanted to turn those gazes of fear and curiosity
into ones of admiration.
Because they had been thoroughly trained as 'slaves for the circus,'
they harbored such irreverent, presumptuous thoughts that other slaves never would.
And then.
The con artist put the final period on those thoughts.
"So show them. How special you are."
No longer were there slaves in that place.
There were only circus performers in noble attire,
trained in perfect etiquette,
acrobatics, and clowning.
The first circus.
The promotion for that performance began.
Noise marketing was a resounding success.
The con artist who thrust the slaves into the heart of high society
introduced them to the nobles as if they were 'nobles with disabilities,' debuting them,
then immediately launched into acrobatics.
Some conservative nobles were appalled by the utterly absurd situation,
while a few idle nobles who had come just to enjoy the party were simply amazed and delighted.
Having drawn massive aggro, Crow offered no further explanations
and vanished from high society just like that.
Afterward,
the nobles who had lost face in high society protested to House Riddle, who had invited them,
but I resolved most issues with the authority and money of the trading house in question.
Additional promotion came as a bonus in the process.
Negative attention is attention nonetheless.
Especially, the con artist Crow had a heaven-sent talent for spreading rumors.
Using letters and connections, he disseminated all sorts of bizarre tales.
Rumors that House Riddle kept giants,
that they had hired legendary dwarves,
that they had tamed two-headed monsters, and the like, spread across the empire.
And then.
The moment full-scale 'circus' promotion began,
countless people flocked to the performances to verify the rumors' truth.
Despite the unfamiliarity of the circus,
all pre-prepared tickets sold out, and VIP seats for nobles and tycoons fetched high prices at auction.
In particular, every noble present in high society that day came to see the show.
A few nobles who failed to secure VIP seats even bought general admission seats, swallowing their pride.
"The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived."
And so, the moment everyone awaited arrived.
Spotlights converged on the stage,
and a con artist ascended, holding a cane, wearing a top hat like a magician, dressed in a simplistic suit fit for children.
Behind him, human shadows flickered ominously.
"The greatest show on earth──."
And the moment the man raised his hand,
fireworks burst on stage,
and the flickering shadows briefly revealed their true forms.
*Gasp* Some people exhaled sharply.
*Kyaaak* Some screamed.
*Woooah* Some cheered wildly.
Monsters. The very monsters they had been so curious about
stood in disciplined ranks behind the con artist like soldiers.
"──begins now!"
Man does not live by bread alone, but by circuses too.
The time of bread was over.
Now was the time of the circus.
Before the momentous first circus began,
I sat in the premium seat of the theater, munching on popcorn.
Of course, this world has no culture of eating popcorn in theaters.
Popcorn itself isn't even that popular.
But as a cultured citizen from 21st-century Korea,
I absolutely needed popcorn.
So I had Torsso prepare it in advance.
Ahh. This is 'popcorn.' So good.
"Too bad there's no cola."
"What's cola?"
"Ahh... You don't know..."
Anyway, the show is about to start soon.
By the way, it's etiquette to finish all your popcorn before the show begins.
After crunching through the popcorn,
I blankly stared at the stage still in preparation.
The con artist Crow took the stage.
["The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived."]
At this point,
I suddenly realized one fact.
"Torsso. Truth is... I've never seen a circus either..."
"Pardon?"
It was already a declining industry in my previous life.
I'd seen a few via video,
but never had the chance to witness a live circus performance right before my eyes.
Especially for someone born in Korea, circuses were just some foreign, exotic thing.
So, this was my first time seeing a circus in a theater.
It felt unfamiliar.
More unfamiliar than the existence of magic, gods, or the Demon King──
The circus unfolding before my eyes
felt far stranger and more novel to me.
["The greatest show on earth──begins now!"]
Dazzling fireworks, grand music, trembling air, lights and shadows, props and models...
An illusion like another world transplanted whole.
'Monsters' of peculiar forms crossing through that illusion.
Common sense torn asunder,
and unreality filling the gaps.
Among the sights I'd seen since possessing this fantasy world,
only this one
truly felt 'fantasy' deep in my heart.
It probably wasn't because I'm some fool who can't distinguish 'real' from 'fake.'
Illusions are illusions precisely because of that.
The truly real can never be illusionary; only the gorgeously packaged fake qualifies as 'fantasy.'
And that's why,
because it's not real,
this world's ugliness and shabbiness hold no presence on that stage,
allowing everyone there to become 'protagonists.'
"Beautiful... So this is what a circus is..."
A play explaining the 'setting' where those monsters are protagonists.
Dazzling, thrilling acrobatics.
Slapstick comedy to fill intermissions and refresh the mood.
Heart-pounding music,
and fantastical staging with lights and fireworks.
Beautiful.
And because that beauty existed solely to adorn hideously ugly slaves,
it was all the more thrilling and precarious.
Which made it penetrate even deeper into my heart.
After all, the world is inherently ugly,
and protagonists' tales are inherently precarious.
"..."
In that moment, I was certain.
The show was a success.
The con artist had sold perfect illusions to everyone present.
"Torsso. Let's go."
"Yes."
As the performance ended,
countless people rose, applauding generously.
I slipped out of the theater quietly, hiding in the applause.
The business was a triumph.
From now on,
it was the time for the 'stars,' not the merchant.
"This is... a performance? What were those traveling acrobats I'd seen before..."
"Don't end the show, the show... It'll make me want to die."
The inaugural circus left deep aftereffects on the masses.
Truly shocking.
It lacked any formality or refinement, but──
it was fun.
Pure fun crushes everything.
A dopamine bombardment unlike anything they'd experienced.
Few could withstand it.
"I want to see the circus again..."
"If you don't buy tickets, no circus. But if you buy tickets, no bread."
"Can I endure it? The boredom of a world without circuses..."
Circus withdrawal so severe it required treatment.
Soon, the circus tour began,
and the empire was swept by an overwhelming circus fever.
"You've never seen a circus? You're 'exiled' from our social circle."
"What."
Everyone talked about the circus.
All tickets sold out in seconds,
and those who hadn't seen it were treated as 'cultural losers' and ostracized from high society.
In the process, some merchants invested, spawning copycat circus troupes, but...
"This isn't a circus aaaargh──!!!"
The fundamentalists smashed their heads and erased their existence.
The investment evaporated as a bonus.
Those vanished 'fake circuses' were wholly absorbed by House Riddle,
ultimately expanding the circus troupe even further.
As a result, lavish simultaneous performances in multiple venues became possible.
Money and prestige.
House Riddle claimed it all.
Like Renaissance trading houses sponsoring great artists to launder their reputations,
House Riddle, once seen as mere money-grubbers,
was reborn as the family dominating the empire's cutting-edge culture.
"This is... cultural monopoly...!"
Torsso, watching the entire process, shuddered.
More bluntly,
Torsso's pants got wet.
"You mad bastard..."
"..."
Thus, the possessor shot him a cold glare as a bonus.
What an astonishing otherworld.