I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

“Duet? With me?”

“Let’s just go for now! We don’t have much time!”

Ella unfolded the ticket in front of him.

Underneath the printed closing time, the ink seemed to wriggle as if alive.

It indicated the remaining time until the entrance deadline.

The numbers were decreasing rapidly like on a stopwatch.

Judging by the location of the stage Ella was pointing at, it seemed quite tight to make it on time even if they rushed.

The scarecrow let out a short sigh.

It took him hours to finally get these tickets.

“Alright. Let’s talk while we go.”

He stood up, carrying Lumie in his arms.

She was sound asleep, deeply enough that she wouldn’t notice even if he carried her through a crowd.

She didn’t even change her breathing pattern while he was running, staggering several times as they walked through the crowded area.

It seemed true that you couldn’t easily wake up a fairy from her sleep.

While running, Ella explained the rules of the competition to him.

It was a system where they would perform in front of judges, and based on the scores they received, they would advance to the finals.

“Scores? Then wouldn’t it be better to sing with Lumie?”

Ella glanced briefly at Lumie in his arms before shaking her head.

“She doesn’t seem like she’ll wake up anytime soon, right? Besides, she can’t. It has to be a mixed-gender duo.”

The scarecrow’s somewhat hesitant face wrinkled.

“But I can’t sing?”

During his broadcasting days, no matter how much money he received in sponsorship, he never sang.

Singing alone was fine, but when he received attention from others, memories of busking on the streets came back, making his face flush and his breath hitch.

“Oh, singing isn’t a big deal. It’s all about confidence! Just enjoy it! You wouldn’t refuse, would you? Especially after going through the trouble of getting these tickets.”

Reluctantly, the scarecrow agreed.

Indeed, if he missed this chance now, there was no guarantee when the next opportunity would come.

But the problem still remained.

“Is there a song that you and I can sing together?”

“Hasn’t it been about 17 or 18 years since you passed away? Don’t worry. I know a lot of old songs. Shall we choose a famous one?”

The scarecrow pondered for a moment.

Although it had been over six months since he came here, he didn’t know many songs.

This place wasn’t like the modern world where you could easily listen to music whenever you wanted.

While there were record players, they weren’t easily accessible, and music wasn’t readily available.

Of course, his lack of interest in singing was the main reason.

However, recently, he had learned quite a few songs inadvertently while helping with rehearsals.

But he couldn’t ask Ella to sing those songs with him.

It would be too suspicious for him to suddenly claim he knew songs from Christian’s unpublished works.

At that moment, one song flashed through his mind.

Many “plays within a play” appeared due to the nature of the material.

Most of them were created by the writers to match the atmosphere of the play, but there was one exception, where the writer inserted one of his previous works.

It was a script from twenty years ago.

Even if he said he knew it, it wouldn’t be strange, given that he had passed away eighteen years ago.

When he asked Ella if she knew the song, she nodded vigorously.

“Christian’s? I know it by heart! Alright, let’s go with that!”

With the song chosen, they arrived at the backstage tent.

When they entered, a stage staff member was looking for them.

“Next contestant, please prepare! Next contestant? Is there no next contestant?”

“Here, over here!”

Ella waved her hand and rushed over to him.

He checked the ticket she presented and nodded.

“You’ve arrived right on time. You’ll be going up on stage right after the current performance. I need your names to inform the host. Could you tell me?”

“I’m Oz, and this is Elphi.”

“I see. Have you decided on the song you’ll be singing? As long as it’s a song you’ve performed on stage at least once, the band can play it for you.”

“Well, the song we’ll be singing is…”

The two of them completed the registration and went to the waiting room to review the lyrics and synchronize their breathing.

When Ella heard him sing, she whistled.

“What’s this? You sing well enough! No need to be so modest.”

The scarecrow scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed at her praise.

“I just don’t perform well in front of an audience.”

“Could it be stage fright? You didn’t seem to have that at all.”

“That’s not it. Strangely, it feels that way only for the song.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll boost the mood, so just go with the flow. It’s just a 5-minute song, right? Let’s close our eyes and give it a shot.”

Seeing Ella’s confident attitude, he felt relieved.

There was no one as reliable as her on stage.

Their turn came quickly.

The stage manager signaled them to get ready to go onstage.

“Oh, but are you going out like that?”

She looked at the strap of the guitar, which was clinging to his torso made of straw.

She had tried to take it off several times before, but he never let go of his body.

“I can’t help it. I have to carry it.”

He supported her firmly with one hand to prevent her from falling, and held the microphone with the other hand.

The two of them followed the stage manager’s guidance and moved to the side of the stage where the audience couldn’t see them.

Ella stood there, taking in the overall atmosphere of the stage.

The size of the stage, the position of the band, the gaze of the audience, the mood, the host’s rhythm.

In her mind, they naturally blended with the song.

She frowned as if she was dissatisfied with something.

Her instincts told her that something was about 2% lacking.

She watched as the previous contestants waited for the judges’ scores, then suddenly turned her head towards the stage manager.

“Can I borrow a guitar?”

“Are you going to play live? Of course!”

The stage manager smiled brightly and handed her a guitar that fit her size.

As soon as she received it, she quickly adjusted the sound by plucking the strings here and there.

“Do you have a pick?”

“Yes.”

From her pocket, she took out an object the size of a coin.

It was a flat badge in the shape of a rose.

It was a ‘Star’ obtained from Luz.

At that moment, the host called out the names of the two.

“The next contestants are Oz and Elphi!”

Usually, contestants would rush out to cheers from the audience.

But Ella didn’t go out.

She stood still, waiting for the cheers to subside.

About 10 seconds passed.

And when people began to wonder what was going on, she strummed the guitar.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the audience changed drastically.

The sound of her guitar was only a short passage, not flashy or noisy.

But it had the effect of raising tension like an appetizer before the main course.

She didn’t miss that opportunity and stepped onto the stage.

The scarecrow followed right behind her.

She crossed the stage, receiving the audience’s gaze, and then quickly grabbed the microphone the host offered, cutting off any attempt at introduction.

“Everyone!”

She lightly plucked the guitar strings once more and shouted again.

“Are you going to sit still?”

The audience fell silent for a moment.

And then, with thunderous cheers, the audience rose from their seats.

“What’s happening all of a sudden?”

“My body just reacted on its own.”

“Why am I suddenly so excited?”

She smiled around at the scene.

Yeah.

That’s it.

Her performance, which was lacking 2%, had an effect beyond expectations.

She felt that every ripple she caused shook the audience more than usual.

Was this what the residents here called the ‘echo of the mountains’?

“I believe everyone knows this! It’s one of Christian’s works! Let’s go!”

The audience stomped their feet and clapped their hands, setting the rhythm.

Everyone knew the song.

She took a short deep breath.

And followed the rhythm of the audience’s breathing and the band’s beat, she plucked the guitar.

The moment her song began.

It gave goosebumps.

***

The protagonist of the story was a demon dwelling in the abyss.

He was famous for his terrifying appearance, enough to frighten even the bravest of people.

One day, he found himself caught in a bet with a fellow demon.

There was a fearless woman in a rural area on the surface, known for her lack of fear, and the bet was that if he could scare her with his appearance alone, without resorting to threats or other tricks, the demon would give him a precious jewel.

Being tempted by the valuable item, he accepted the bet without properly considering it.

He didn’t doubt that just a glimpse of himself would terrify the woman.

However, when he went to the village and saw the woman, he realized she was blind and couldn’t see him.

Only then did he realize he had been tricked, but a bet was a bet, and there was no way out.

So, he struggled to find a way to scare the woman to win the bet.

During the day when the villagers were all out, he went to the woman and explained how terrifying he looked.

However, she only found joy in the company of this amusing and kind guest who interrupted her mundane daily chores.

The song was about the him describing his hometown to the woman.

It was a humorous and warm song, contrasting the demon’s initial intention to scare the woman with his attempts to portray the abyss as an ordinary village and showing how his feelings towards her changed as he struggled to find a way to win the bet.

In fact, this song was not strategically suitable for the competition.

It required props, backgrounds representing the demon’s village, and the cooperation of demon residents to truly bring out its essence.

In the midst of such a noisy festival atmosphere, with no narrative context of the play, simply standing on stage with just the two of them singing the song diminished its appeal.

But Ella compensated for these shortcomings with her talent.

She managed to engage the audience, who were initially noisy, to stand up and naturally join in the response parts of the song, and she filled in the gaps with her ad-libs and acting skills.

Even those who didn’t know the plot of the play could feel how the situation was unfolding just by watching her.

Contrary to his initial lack of confidence, the scarecrow followed her lead well.

In a short time, he immersed himself in the role of the demon.

His ridiculous attempt to portray something evil as ordinary seemed somewhat similar to his own situation, seemingly ingrained in Wonderstein’s body.

He energetically sang the song, jumping around the stage.

But was he the only one immersed in his role?

The final verse sung by the blind woman hinted at her love for the devil, even if he was to be described as wicked.

The look in Ella’s eyes as she sang that part seemed to be filled with intense emotions.

At a glance, it almost seemed as if tears were welling up.

The moment he met her gaze, he missed the last part that should have been sung.

Amidst the confusion, the band played the final chords of the song, and with the loud bang of the drums, the two people’s stage came to an end.

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Chapter 224: Wonderland – 27