I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

I finished work earlier than I thought and spent time walking outside.

In various parts of the city, Halloween decorations were in full swing.

Laborers hired by the city were putting pumpkin-shaped ornaments on the gas lamps.

And below them, they placed large models of bats and spiders.

When I first saw them, I felt a sense of familiarity.

It was because of the costumes they were wearing.

The people directly involved in the work were wearing overalls with skeletons drawn on them and skull-shaped helmets, while the higher-ranking officials supervising the work were wearing devil masks with red-horned leather.

Their appearance reminded me of clown and acrobats from our circus troupe.

Both the scale of the facilities prepared and the costumes of the officials indicated that the city was solidly preparing for this day.

It seemed like the city was taking advantage of this festival as an opportunity to leave a lasting impression on its visitors, especially with the large crowd gathered for the Circus Grand Prix.

I enjoyed the scenery as I walked along the streets.

Tril Trilo 2.

The spatial background of it was cities with six theatres.

And its temporal background was the Halloween festival four years from now.

Now the city was finally starting to resemble what I knew.

As I strolled around, I inadvertently passed the place where I had arranged to meet Clara.

I ended up in the playground near the market.

Individuals or small-scale acrobats were showcasing their talents.

Laughter and amazement echoed everywhere.

I squeezed into the crowd to watch their performance.

Among them, there were familiar faces.

It was a comedy stage presented by two men dressed in identical suits.

“There’s a snake in my shoe!”

“Don’t miss it! We’ve been starving for three days!”

“But it’s scary! How do we catch it?”

“Let’s just cook the shoe!”

However, before they could even put the shoe into the pot, the snake jumped out from inside.

It was because the shoe was so old that there was a hole in the toe.

They chased the snake around, stumbling and falling, creating slapstick comedy.

The coordination between the snake and the two men was exquisite.

That must have been the skill of the snake handler who accompanied them.

Laughter erupted from all directions.

Some burst into hearty laughter.

Their skills had certainly improved significantly compared to when they were in Luz.

Not to mention their acting skills, the script was much more natural than before.

Allen and Jo, who trembled at the sight of a single snake and babbled endlessly about it, along with Jo’s feeble attempts at tackling, were utterly ridiculous.

In the original work, they debuted as actors and didn’t receive applause for nearly three years.

But here, although it wasn’t a big stage, they were receiving positive responses from the audience.

I smiled as I watched them bow amid applause.

For someone like me who would eventually leave, these small changes were something to be happy about.

Each of my little choices was changing the future in unseen ways, regardless of the insignificance or importance of the circumstances.

Allen and Jo successfully concluded their performance.

I smiled as I watched them bow amid applause.

The next stage I visited was a solo performance by a tightrope acrobat.

Surprisingly, instead of a tightrope, he was walking on something else.

It was the blade of a giant pair of scissors.

“Is that real? Surely… it’s not fake, right?”

“Yes, it’s real! Earlier, a thick piece of wood was easily cut through!”

“How can she stand on top of that? And barefoot?”

The crowd murmured in amazement.

It was truly astonishing.

The acrobat not only walked by gripping it between her toes but also stood on it with her soles firmly spread.

But there wasn’t a drop of blood from her feet.

The acrobat silently performed her act without a word.

She didn’t even give a simple introduction.

Her face was hidden behind a mask.

From his physique, only the fact that she was a woman could be barely discerned.

She skillfully alternated between three sharp blades, performing daring feats on each one.

Everyone watched her acrobatics with bated breath, gripping their hands in sweat.

When she completed a somersault in mid-air and landed back on the blade, cheers erupted from all around.

To not make a single mistake in such a chaotic environment was no small feat.

She was no ordinary performer.

At that moment, our eyes met.

“Huh?”

It was when she was completing her second somersault in mid-air and landing her foot on the blade again.

She missed her step on the blade.

Her body plummeted to the ground.

Blood splattered from the blade as she fell.

“Scream!”

“S-Someone’s dead!”

“Ah!”

Spectators screamed in horror as they backed away.

But they would soon feel embarrassed.

The acrobat was perfectly fine.

It was just a slight graze on her cheek.

Even that wasn’t too deep.

While there was some bleeding, her life wasn’t in danger.

It was just one spectator overreacting.

As everyone awkwardly glanced at each other, I was already approaching her.

Despite being injured, the masked acrobat didn’t scream.

I could barely hear her whimpering as I stood right in front of her.

“May I take a look at your injuries?”

She took a rough breath and nodded slightly.

As my hand touched her cheek, she let out a faint whimper.

With each touch of my fingers, the bleeding stopped, and the cuts healed.

“What, is this a potion?”

“No way. You’d need tons of money to buy a single bottle of top-grade potion.”

“Is this also part of the show?”

I whispered softly to her, barely audible amidst the crowd’s murmurs.

“It was dangerous. You could have been seriously injured… Reyna.”

The masked acrobat flinched at my words.

She quickly shook her head.

“Y-You got the wrong person.”

Her forced attempt to speak confidently was obvious.

I immediately activated the Sound Room.

‘You’re not very good at lying.’

She didn’t respond at all.

I supported her and led her to a secluded corner of the playground.

Some of the spectators followed us, but when they saw us just sitting there quietly, they soon left to watch other performances.

We sat there in silence.

It had been a while since we last met.

Lately, she hadn’t sent me any quest requests.

She hadn’t asked for conversations, or secretly asked to meet in the alleyways, or requested me to play the role of her father.

Since the last freshman welcome party, she seemed reluctant to contact me.

After sitting silently for a while, she spoke first.

“I’m sorry.”

I smiled and shook my head.

“You should say, ‘Thank you,’ right? Reyna, you didn’t do anything wrong to me.”

She looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

“…Yes. Thank you.”

She let out a long sigh and spoke in a more relaxed tone.

We talked about how we had been during this time.

I also shared what had happened to me during this time.

That’s how we confirmed each other’s well-being after two weeks.

“When I feel frustrated, I often come out like this, cover my face, and perform alone. My father always criticizes me when I do it indoors.”

“I see. But performing such dangerous acts alone is risky. You should have someone helping you by your side.”

We never brought up why there had been no contact between us until the end.

By the time the blood dried up on the blade, a commotion erupted from a corner of the market.

It seemed like some kind of competition was taking place there, targeting the citizens.

Reyna decided it was time to leave.

She was still wearing the bloodstained mask.

“Are you going to keep wearing that?”

“Anyway, it’s for the Halloween costume.”

“Still, it’s a bit much to walk around with real blood on it. Wait here for a moment.”

Conveniently, there was a stall nearby selling masks.

I went there and picked one out.

In TT2, each protagonist and supporter character had a Halloween costume.

Among the dozens of masks sold in the store, there happened to be the one she was wearing in the games.

I bought it and handed it to her.

“If it’s uncomfortable to show your face, you can wear this instead.”

It was a creepy mask.

The two horns on each side of the forehead were commonly seen in other masks, but there was something chilling about its expression.

It looked like it was crying, yet it also seemed angry.

With swollen eyes and sharp teeth, the gaping mouth seemed to be either crying in sorrow or screaming with anger.

“The Weeping Woman (La Llorona) mask.”

“The Weeping Woman?”

I didn’t know it had a special name.

Players just called it ‘Reyna’s Halloween Mask’ because of its appearance.

She accepted the mask I offered.

“It’s a legend from the Castya region. Haven’t you heard of it?”

She told me the story behind the mask.

It was about a pair of siblings.

As I listened to her story, I realized I had heard a similar tale before.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with Yurakne at a hotel in Luz a while back.

We used to exchange stories we read in magazines while drinking tea, and a similar story came up then.

The twins supposedly became stars and met only once a year on their birthdays, separated by the Milky Way.

I had commented that it was similar to the story of Altair and Vega….

As I mentioned that, Reyna nodded.

“Yes. That’s right. It’s about the stars. The twin stars have many names, and one of them is what I mentioned. It’s called ‘The Weeping Woman,’ and in that case, the other side is called… ‘The Laughing Man (El Reidor).”

The Laughing Man.

I glanced back at the mask store.

Just in case they had a mask for that man too.

Reyna corrected my expectations.

“It won’t be there. It’s mainly used for humorous purposes.”

As I looked back at her, she was already wearing the mask I had given her.

The Weeping Woman.

Knowing the story behind it, the mask seemed more sad than scary.

“Just wait here for a moment.”

She rushed to the mask store.

And she came back with a mask.

“I bought one too. For you.”

It was a crow-shaped mask.

I knew what it was.

“It’s the Saint Victor’s mask. It heals the sick…. Somehow, it seems to suit you, doesn’t it?”

She shouldered her equipment and left.

People who met her on the way recoiled in fear.

It was certainly scary to see someone with a bloody blades and a Weeping Woman mask.

With the mask in hand, I got up to go meet Clara.

Then I saw people gathering in one corner of the street.

It was the same place where the competition was supposed to take place earlier.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but apparently a monster-like kid came out in the first match. The table she was using as support turned to dust, and her opponent flew into a corner!”

“What? Wait, how old is this kid?”

Something seemed to have happened.

I followed the crowd to that place.

It seemed like the competition, or whatever it was, had been temporarily suspended.

The host, the other participants, and the audience were all looking at one place, murmuring.

“Aah!”

There was Clara, holding her broken arm and crying.

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Chapter 201: Wonderland – 4