I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Minova was well-versed in the physiology of the underworld, thanks to his youth spent wandering the back alleys.

He negotiated with gangsters and settled Dosville’s gambling debts.

On the condition that he worked under him for two years.

Thus Lord Dosville came to join the Satbyeol Circus.

Officially, he was the director’s secretary, but in reality, he did the work of a servant.

Even now, he was clearing broken tables and sweeping the floor.

After discussing everything that had happened, Minova got to the point.

“Can the Demon be removed?”

Wonderstein shook his head without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the hair demon had already firmly bonded with her, becoming a ‘unique trait.’

Humans undergo cell replacement every six months.

Once that deadline passed, Debulroots couldn’t be separated from the newly generated cells.

In Ruelle’s case, the problem was that she was still under ten years old, even though she had only received treatment four months ago.

Children’s cell replacement cycles were shorter than adults’.

Minova looked despairing.

“Is there really no way?”

“I can’t guarantee it right now… but… there might be a solution in about two years.”

The Tril, the relic of the God of Circus, Kirku.

If they had it, it would be possible to fix her body.

Minova nodded.

He didn’t inquire further about what that method entailed.

He was satisfied with the hope.

“Alright. If you ever need anything in the future, just ask. I’ll help with whatever I can.”

Wonderstein politely declined his offer to have dinner and left the building.

There was a carriage waiting in front of the building.

The luggage compartment of the carriage was filled with luggage sent from a clothing store, and inside the carriage, Clara was still asleep, drugged.

As he called for the driver to return to the lodging, someone came running out of the building.

A young girl with orange hair.

It was Ruelle.

“What’s wrong?”

She froze as they faced each other alone for the first time.

They had never properly spoken before.

She was very shy.

She took a small deep breath and barely managed to speak.

“T…there’s something Samson wants to say…”

“Who’s Samson?”

“I… I gave him that name…”

She said as she stroked her hair.

When her hand touched it, it squelched.

It was like a cat enjoying its owner’s touch.

“Isn’t he the demon trying to take over your body?”

“Samson isn’t like that!”

Ruelle suddenly screamed.

Everyone passing by turned to look at her.

Realizing what she had done, she blushed and added in a low voice.

“I… I’ve talked to him… Samson is a good kid…”

“Well, we’ll see. Maybe Samson is deceiving you?”

“No, I… I said he isn’t…”

With a slight smile, Wonderstein looked at her.

The sight of the child was so cute that he couldn’t help but tease her.

“Alright. Let’s have a conversation.”

She hesitated for a moment, nodded her head, and closed her eyes.

And a few seconds later.

When she opened her eyes again, her pupils were coldly sunken.

“Creator.”

“Samson.”

They looked at each other silently.

It must have been a strange sight.

A child and an adult almost twice her size staring at each other.

“I heard you had something to say.”

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

He organized his thoughts for a moment and then spoke.

“How was I created? And was it really a coincidence that you made me? Or was there a purpose behind it? Ruelle cant hear, I pushed her down below. So, I’d appreciate it if you could answer me honestly.”

A human light that had never been seen before emerged in his expression.

Expectation, worry, fear.

He looked like a child who had just stepped out into the world for the first time.

Wonderstein explained his birth process as sincerely as possible.

Of course, he hid anything related to Debulroots.

Having heard the whole story, he looked up at the sky with a complicated expression.

“So according to you, I’m a being born without any purpose.”

“That’s correct.”

“… “

He stood there silently for a moment before speaking.

“I had hoped… I had expected something. That I was born with some sort of mission. I’ve been thinking about the one who made me.”

“What kind of imaginations did you have?”

“Scientists conducting experiments on human bodies, wicked magician, or maybe a possession like mine….”

“… “

“But all my expectations were wrong. To think I was just a byproduct created accidentally during the treatment process of this child. Am I nothing more than that?”

He let out a small sigh.

Wonderstein sensed familiarity in his attitude.

He remembered his friends from the orphanage.

They often wore such expressions.

Failed experiments abandoned by their parents.

They pitied themselves like that.

Wonderstein felt a sense of responsibility towards Samson.

After all, he was a being he had created.

But he expressed strong resentment towards his attempts to console him.

“Get over it! Pretending to be my parents is pathetic. Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m just an accident, unrelated to your intentions. Do you feel responsible even for the weeds that grew from the fertilizer you spread?”

He said so and went back into the building.

Wonderstein couldn’t take his eyes off the direction he disappeared in for a while.

***

Shortly after the carriage departed, Clara woke up.

I told her what had happened during her sleep.

Of course, I left out anything about Samson.

I just explained that due to the side effects of treating Ruelle’s body, she had become stronger physically and was experiencing mental instability as a consequence.

A demon possessing a human body or a created being.

It would be an incomprehensible story for her.

She listened to my story, nodded her head, and then immediately fell asleep again.

It seemed like I had given her too much sedative earlier.

When we arrived at the villa, the members were preparing for dinner.

As I came downstairs after laying Clara in her room, Ella handed me something.

It was a small golden envelope.

I read the surface of it.

It was sent by Marquis Slagbrot, the owner of a Slagbrot Bakery factory.

“He wants to invite us tomorrow afternoon.”

“Tomorrow? That’s sudden.”

I carefully tore open the invitation, but there was no specific content written.

It simply stated that the ten best acrobats from different field were invited.

“It’s not just me. Maya got an invitation too.”

“Maya?”

I looked around.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

Ella said she was tired and went to bed first.

“Maya learned acrobatics, but… was she at the level to receive an invitation from the Marquis?”

“Didn’t you know? Two weeks ago, when that monster appeared… They said many people saw her fighting. Like, throwing a thousand knives in the air at once. People who saw that went crazy saying she’s the best in dagger throwing.”

“I see.”

At that moment, the bell rang through the villa.

Ding dong.

It was announcing dinner time.

“Alright, today we’ve put our all into the meal!”

“Chirp chirp, everyone! Eat up!”

Yurakne and Ratman chef Lupa came out of the kitchen carrying dishes.

Certainly, among the dinners I’ve had since coming to Yeterinpuurk, today’s was the most luxurious.

The main ingredient was pumpkins harvested during the day.

Beef and pumpkin soup, grilled chicken wings with pumpkin, steamed clams with pumpkin, and so on.

Not only were there many varieties, but the taste was also exceptional.

“Wow, today’s food is the best I’ve ever tasted!”

“It’s worth all the effort we put into growing pumpkins for a month.”

“Is it really melting in the mouth?”

I also exclaimed while eating.

Indeed, among all the dishes she had cooked so far, today’s was the most excellent.

Seeing the enthusiastic reactions of the members, Yurakne smiled proudly.

“It would be embarrassing if you’re all so impressed. The best dish of the day hasn’t even been served yet.”

She looked towards one corner of the dining room.

There, there were dishes freshly taken out of the oven.

They also contained pumpkin.

“Oh my. I could open a pumpkin specialty restaurant!”

“I should have bought pumpkins every time I went to the market, what a regret.”

“By the way, Yurakne, didn’t you cultivate a vegetable garden? Did you grow pumpkins then too?”

Yurakne nodded in response to the youngest of the triplets’ question.

“Yes. Of course, I don’t have talents like Gascon so I couldn’t grow them as big. Still, when it was time to harvest pumpkins, I naturally became familiar with pumpkin dishes because there was a lot to cook.”

“Haha, what a lot of cooking for someone who lived alone in the forest…”

Sven’s cheerful voice suddenly diminished.

Something had come to his mind.

Even the people who were laughing and having a good time suddenly had their smiles fade upon hearing his words.

A silence fell over the dining room.

The only person whose expression didn’t change was Yurakne herself.

She maintained the same smile she had when Sven spoke.

Without any discernible change.

Everyone watched Yurakne closely.

Then, I made eye contact with her.

Realizing that I was smiling, I quickly covered my mouth.

She nodded towards me as if to indicate she understood.

“October is the month of my husband’s death anniversary. He liked pumpkins, so I always prepared a generous offering for the memorial.”

She stood up.

In one corner of the dining room, there was a dish that seemed to be the star of the day.

It was a large golden lump resembling a moon.

Six iron skewers were stuck into its surface.

Yurakne used her six arms to cut them all at once.

With a sharp sound, the lump was divided into six pieces.

Steam rose as the roasted meat and vegetables inside spilled out along with the brown sauce.

She scooped them onto a large plate and brought them to the table.

Everyone in the dining room remained silent, only breathing.

She served the food onto each plate with a large ladle.

“It’s not his death anniversary today… It’s around mid-October. This isn’t an offering, so feel free to eat.”

She said with a slightly raised voice, sounding cheerful.

But no one here responded to it.

They all silently focused on the dishes she served.

Then, Ella and Gascon made eye contact.

Both of them picked up their forks simultaneously.

And they began eating the food with gusto.

“Wow! This looks so delicious! And the meat is incredibly tender!”

“Hahaha, the golden glow that only pumpkins can produce. Amazing! I’ll have to grow pumpkins diligently to eat this kind of thing!”

They exaggeratedly complimented the food as they ate.

Soon, other members also started to resume their meal one by one, following the two.

They all praised her cooking continuously.

After confirming that the atmosphere had returned to normal, I tasted the dish she had served.

The melted pumpkin and brown gravy sauce combined to create a deep flavour.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it, Ringmaster?”

“…It’s truly delicious. It’s the best among all the dishes I’ve ever eaten.”

“Haha, thank you. That’s the highest praise.”

After finishing our meal like that, we gathered in the reception room, enjoying desserts and sharing the Halloween costumes we had brought for the occasion.

“For now, try on your clothes tonight. And check if there’s anything uncomfortable. The tailor will come tomorrow morning to fix any discrepancies on the spot.”

With that, the members went back to their rooms to check their clothes.

Even though we ate until our stomachs were full from dinner to dessert, I still had something to eat.

It was to continue the experiment I had been doing for the past two weeks.

I took out a bottle containing sparkling powders from my pocket.

Starlight.

I don’t know who named it, but it was a fitting name.

I opened the lid and brought it close to my mouth.

Just facing it made me instinctively want to swallow it.

It was like a primal instinct as Wonderstein.

Just for a fragment that was only made of Tril. I wonder how excited would I be if I saw a real gemstone?

Yesterday, when I drank a pinch, I could momentarily but quickly deactivate inherent characteristics.

How much should I eat today?

Two pinches?

Just as I was about to sprinkle the powder into my mouth, the door suddenly opened with a bang.

The bottle slipped through my loosely clasped fingers for a moment.

And a large amount of starlight powder poured into my mouth.

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Chapter 203: Wonderland – 6