The Freak Show Foreman

From the sharp edges of her clothes, sleeves, and even the neatly folded parts of her skirt, to the shine of her shoes and shoulders reflecting light to the point where it could illuminate a person’s face, it all indicated an extra effort. Even the feather decoration on her hat seemed to have been completely replaced, radiating a purple shine.

Even the animals she raised were adorned with accessories.

Black bow ties adorned the neck of Pigeon Dub, and a pink ribbon hung from the tail tip of Mouse Chick. Both wore small hats identical to the one Ella had on her head.

Where did she find such accessories?

In response to my question, Ella shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"This? I bought the materials at the fabric store and personally stitched them."

She tapped the hats of the pigeon and mouse with her fingertips.

Despite all the accessories, Ella handled them well, and the animals emitted a pleasant sound without bothering her.

"Ella’s versatility knows no bounds, hehe."

"Well, what’s that supposed to mean, all of a sudden…"

Ella pouted, avoiding eye contact, lips pursed.

I smiled at her in response.

"But why is your drawing skill like that?"

"Ugh."

Her face contorted when the topic of drawing came up.

Laughter spilled from the mouths of Yurakne and Sven, who had been silent until now.

Everyone remembered what happened the day before yesterday.

"Hehe, that thing, right? It was really impressive."

"Haha, I don’t know what you drew, but it had the right appearance to fit into our circus troupe."

At Sven’s words, Yurakne poked his side.

"That was the ringmaster’s idea."

"Oh, I see! I thought it was some hungry monkey variant with golden fur…"

"Shh, quiet!"

Ella shouted loudly.

She pressed the hat down on her face, her face red, and glanced at me.

"Wh-why bring up something unnecessary…"

"I’m sorry. I wonder how you drew it in the first place…"

"I don’t know! I don’t remember! Don’t worry about it since it’s burned!"

Ella sat down roughly, pressing the hat down as if to cover her eyes.

"Maya will handle it well. She said she learned to draw from a young age. If I had learned, I might have been able to do something similar…"

Ella had gathered the members the day before yesterday and suggested drawing a signboard.

Considering the information obtained from the opening ceremony and the cabaret staff, it seemed that gaining the favour of the city residents would play a significant role in the test.

To achieve that, wouldn’t it be helpful to have a large signboard in front of the hotel? A signboard was one of the important promotional tools for a performance.

We had one that was drawn for us by the Aksville Merchant Association in the past.

However, it was makeshift and quite crude compared to what other circus troupes had.

So, we decided to draw a new signboard.

Even in the age of illusionists, using a painter for this kind of work was still more practical.

A signboard had to be displayed outside for several days or weeks, and unless dozens of magicians were involved, maintaining such an illusion consistently was impossible.

Even Maya, touted as a genius, found it challenging to maintain an illusion of the size suitable for a signboard for more than an hour.

So Ella confidently took up the brush to start drawing on the signboard.

Given her outstanding talents in various fields, it was expected that she would do well this time too.

However, the result was dismal.

She seriously considered reattaching the signboard provided by the Aksville Merchant Guild, which the members had broken in half.

It was regrettable not to see it with my own eyes.

"I’ll do the drawing."

Maya, who was not as skilled, took up the brush and palette.

She had learned painting from her father, who was a painter when she was young.

Considering her ability to shape fantasies, drawing a signboard at the entrance of the circus was well within her capabilities.

Once she started working, she concentrated to a frightening extent.

She even refused to participate in the preliminary task presentation.

Despite Yurakne’s persuasion that it wouldn’t take long, she shook her head.

Today’s event had no time for a celebration performance or introducing notable figures.

It was just a simple meal with snacks, presentation of test assignments, and a few rounds of drawing lots.

Maybe we would sit for about an hour and then leave.

It was possible to go out with Yurakne and Sven, thanks to that.

The members still felt uncomfortable going to crowded places. Today, being a short stay, the two of them could be less reserved.

The venue for the event was the same as the opening ceremony, the 1st Hall of the Rose Windmill Cabaret.

This was my third visit.

I couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling where the light had fallen, and my gaze went to the stage where I had stood as the accused for no reason.

This place always brought me unpleasant memories.

Today, I hoped nothing bad would happen.

"Hey, you’re here."

A man with a red mohawk and a red beard, shaking like a rooster on the opposite table, approached me.

Minova.

The director of the Satbyeol Circus.

The first impression wasn’t good, but after he sided with me in the trial, I developed some goodwill towards him.

"Haha, greetings! Is this the deputy head? Nice to meet you! Oh, and this here is a beautiful lady! Hm, you’re covering your face. Well, whatever, haha!"

I responded to his cheerful greeting, inquiring about each other’s well-being, and laughed back at him.

However, I felt a slight sense of discomfort inside.

Can people change so much?

It was hard to imagine that this cheerful guy would turn into such a malicious person in just two years.

Minova was a singer and a strongman. Perhaps that’s why he had a large build and well-developed muscles.

His upper body was relatively larger than his lower body, especially his widely spread shoulders were impressive.

Estimating roughly, each shoulder seemed to be over 30 cm.

Whether he wanted to emphasize it or not, he had a large doll on one shoulder.

Matching his nickname of "Rooster," the doll was shaped like a chick.

As I stared at it in surprise, the chick doll suddenly spoke.

"Hello…."

I was startled, but thanks to the smiling man, I knew from the start that it was a person and nodded casually.

A face was revealed under the hood.

A girl who was not even five years old.

She wore a yellow one-piece animal pajama with fluffy yellow fur attached.

The one I thought was a doll turned out to be her.

Minova smiled as if he had been waiting for someone to discover her.

"Let me introduce you! This is Ruelle Yang, our adorable deputy head!"

He shouted, lifting the girl on his shoulder.

The girl in his hand blushed and covered her face with yellow wing decorations.

"I-it’s not like that… He is just my dad, and I am his daughter…"

Ruelle struggled to escape from her dad’s grasp.

Her actions looked like a baby chick trying to break free, making me naturally smile. Ella and the other members also burst into laughter. The sight of the flustered child was just too adorable.

Perhaps due to the commotion, the attention of the people around us focused on our group.

"What’s going on? Who are they?"

"Hey, isn’t that Wonderstein from the news?"

"Wow, he’s handsome. Feast for eyes for sure!"

"Who’s the guy on the opposite side?"

"I don’t know."

"He looks like the ringmaster of a circus or something."

"Ugh, it’s too loud. His voice is so annoyingly loud."

Most eyes were on me due to the trial incident that occurred at the opening ceremony.

However, Ruelle seemed to think the attention was because of her dad’s loudness, covering her face with her wings and letting out a cute sigh.

I looked at her with a pleased smile and then asked Minova, "You have a daughter?"

"Of course! I’m over 40 now, do you think I didn’t get married?"

His words gave me a solid feeling, as if something firm hit my head.

In TT1, he expressed some concern about missing members, but he never mentioned anything about his family. There was no mention of a daughter in his profile or background.

The reason he became twisted two years later.

The reason he acts unusually friendly towards me.

These two things were connected.

I whispered to him, "Is she sick?"

Minova’s shoulders twitched.

"Wow! Cute! So cute!"

Ella separated Ruelle from Minova and hugged her. She loved animals and cute things, and Ruelle in her chick pajamas was something she could jump around with joy about.

Minova looked at the scene with a pleased expression and then whispered to me with a slightly sunken expression, "How did you know?"

"I just felt it."

"Of course…! You really cured Vergsong’s disease, huh?"

After saying that, he closed his mouth.

It felt like he wanted to say more but hesitated.

Even a fool could guess what he wanted to say.

Before giving a hasty answer, I used the diagnostic function of the Evolution Research Lab to check her illness.

Fortunately, it was a treatable disease.

The institute quickly provided an estimate. "It can be fixed."

There was no need for questions, but I answered, "I can do it."

Minova looked surprised for a moment, but soon he hardened his expression.

"Sorry. I should have asked first."

"Ohoho, don’t worry about it."

At that moment, the girl in chick pajamas shouted towards us, "Dad, look at this!"

There, Ella’s rat and dove were showing off their talents for a single audience member.

Chick stood on both legs, did a backflip, and Dub, with folded wings, demonstrated a precarious aerial turn.

Minova, who had a serious expression, laughed heartily as he looked at his daughter smiling widely.

Ruelle, as if she had done something amazing by raising animals, pestered Ella to show her something else.

Minova looked at that scene for a moment, then mumbled with a softened voice, "It’s a strange thing. Having a child."

"Is that so?"

He let out a deep sigh.

"Even though I look like this now, when I was young, I was quite a scoundrel. I was a wandering acrobat, but in reality, I also did robbery and theft. I did anything for money. I hit people, robbed them, set fires… I didn’t care about others’ suffering. I wasted the money I earned on alcohol and women, complaining about the world. I used to despise and envy those who lived harder and better than me."

He clenched his fist and then opened it as he spoke.

He was talking about the past, but it sounded like he was talking about the future to me.