The Freak Show Foreman

"These are the promissory notes issued by the Chamber of Commerce here. And this is the item you asked for earlier."

Lunchtime.

The two members of the Monster Circus decided to leave the mansion.

The mansion’s residents had wanted to entertain them for days, but the ringmaster refused.

He said he was in a hurry, so it was hard to persuade him any further.

"The lady won’t even come out to see them off."

"Yeah, that tall girl even showed her naked body. How is she supposed to face him?"

"I wouldn’t mind if a handsome man like him undressed and performed some magic for me."

"Shh, the butler will hear you. Keep it down."

Normally, the old butler would have scolded the maids who chattered without any restraint.

But now, his mind was elsewhere.

He recalled the moment he had seen his lady crying in his room after meeting Wonderstein.

He hadn’t heard the details, but listening to her sobbing, he could vaguely guess that she had been hurt.

The butler held his breath.

What had she expected from a man she had just met for the first time yesterday, with whom she hadn’t even exchanged a word?

The lady, who had always yearned for the outside world, had a fantasy about love.

He had saved her life and treated her, so she naturally imagined that a passionate love would blossom.

But he never expected that it would happen so quickly, let alone in such an intense manner.

He didn’t even imagine it would be that intense!

"Well then, we’ll see you next time. Please give my regards to the lady of the house."

The butler wanted to grab the insolent magician by the collar and ask what was lacking in our lady.

But as a seasoned butler, he didn’t reveal his emotions in front of guests.

He just cursed silently in his mind.

On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.

A relationship between a wandering stranger and a lady could cause quite a scandal in Charlotia, where lineage was highly valued.

The carriage was filled with gifts prepared for Wonderstein. He was all ready to leave.

He just needed the assistant ringmaster to arrive.

As if on cue, Ella walked in from the garden.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh, just...admiring the garden."

Ella avoided Wonderstein’s gaze as she casually strolled around.

Seeing the dirt and grass stains on her dress, it was clear that she hadn’t just been admiring the garden.

Wonderstein suspected something, but he didn’t show it.

"Then I wish you a safe journey."

As they were bid farewell by the mansion’s residents, the carriage departed.

During the return journey to the campsite, the carriage was silent.

Ella kept glancing back at the mansion as if she had left something behind.

"Vergsong gave us many gifts."

"Oh, did she?"

"I also received several local specialties. I’ll share them with the members when we get back."

"I see."

"I will eat alone. I think the other members might feel uncomfortable."

"That’s how it usually goes."

After a few words, the carriage fell silent again.

Ella didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Wonderstein smiled slyly as he watched her give half-hearted responses.

He took out a bundle from his pocket, a gift that the butler had prepared earlier.

"Take this."

"I don’t need it."

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Ella turned her head sharply.

How could she after being deceived by this devil?

And right now, this gift is not important.

She was more concerned about... damn it.

A few minutes passed like that.

Wonderstein still held out the gift, not retracting it until she took it.

’What a persistent devil’

Ella sighed deeply as she reluctantly accepted the package.

It was very light.

"What’s this?"

"Open it."

She gave a skeptical look at Wonderstein as she carefully unwrapped the package.

It seemed too light to be jewelry.

But what she found inside was something she had never expected.

"Oh..."

Her fingers touched a piece of fabric adorned with delicate embroidery.

A handkerchief.

Ella knew exactly what this was.

It was the handkerchief she had thrown out of the window last night.

She had been searching for it all the time in the garden.

But why was it here now?

"I asked the butler to find the handkerchief that fell in the garden."

"..."

"That thing you went looking for this morning."

Ella couldn’t say anything and just caressed the handkerchief in her hand.

She might not remember her mother, but this was the only heirloom she had left.

She had asked Wonderstein to leave and go retrieve it because she didn’t want him to see her crying last night.

She had planned to send other servants to pick it up later.

But when she actually went to search the garden today, she couldn’t find the handkerchief anywhere.

She thought she had lost it forever.

She regretted her unnecessary pride and had been crying all morning.

But why did he have this item now?

"Ella values it dearly."

"..."

"I’ve cleaned it thoroughly, used magic to dry and sterilize it, so don’t worry and use it."

Ella fidgeted with the handkerchief, trying to find the right words.

But she couldn’t think of anything to say.

She just kept repeating herself.

"Why...?"

"What?"

"Why... did you?"

Wonderstein seemed to smile as if wondering why she was asking such a question.

"We made a deal."

"What?"

"You agreed to help me. If Ella is distracted elsewhere, how can she be of assistance to me?"

"..."

Ella stared at the handkerchief for a moment, then clenched it tightly.

It was ridiculous.

Talking about devil.

"It was a pointless endeavor."

"What?"

Ella put the handkerchief back into her pocket and spoke.

"I can easily have bird or mice find it for me. But why did you have to interfere and make things complicated? I went through unnecessary trouble since this morning."

"Come to think of it, you’re right. Hehe, I apologize."

Wonderstein smiled and bowed his head.

"Ugh."

Ella couldn’t say anything more.

She remained silent, gazing out of the window until they reached the campsite.

Wonderstein also spent his time staring out the opposite window.

Of course, he wasn’t really taking in the scenery.

["Chapter Quest - Handkerchief" has been completed.]

It was the activated chapter quest that appeared after Ella had thrown the handkerchief out of the window last night.

A message popped up indicating its completion.

Chapter Quest - Handkerchief:

The handkerchief you just retrieved is a very precious item to Ella. Completion Condition:

Return the handkerchief to Ella.

Reward upon Success:

[Debulroots x1]

Penalty for Failure:

None

Chapter quests were similar to companion quests in games. The six support characters who accompanied him in real-time would make various requests based on their interactions to the surrounding environment. Fulfilling these requests would slightly increase their favorability or grant simple items.

Usually, it was things like:

"Hey, let’s take a break here for a moment." "Can I take off my armor? It’s too humid." "I can’t stand being with that brat. Me or him, one of us has to go." "I really want some ice cream."

These were the kind of minor requests they usually made.

This chapter quest was no different. It involved returning a handkerchief, a simple task, with a reward of just one "Debulroot." But still, he cared about it genuinely. It was frustrating that the favorability didn’t even increase by 1 point. Maybe the display was just showing 0, but in reality, it was in negative?

If that was the case, she could reach the favorability of 0 by the end of the game. That would be terrible.

"Ringmaster! Assistant Ringmaster! We’ve arrived at the campsite!"

The carriage came to a stop.

The coachman was so dedicated to his role that he wouldn’t even touch the luggage, and we carefully unloaded it ourselves.

"Well, I’ll be on my way then! Have a pleasant journey!"

With a cloud of dust, the carriage headed back to the mansion.

Ella still hadn’t said a word and had her back turned to Wonderstein, was looking towards the departing carriage.

"Miss Ella?"

Even when he called out to her, she neither responded nor moved from her spot. She just tapped her foot lightly on the dusty ground.

A little while later, she opened her mouth ever so slightly and muttered in a tiny voice.

"...Thank you."

"What?"

Still, Ella did not respond to his words, and she simply turned and headed towards where the rest of the members were.

Now she wouldn’t even acknowledge people. She had been so cute before, but that darn kid...

If it weren’t for the contract, I’d really give her a piece of my mind...

I don’t have the energy for it...

Come to think of it, without Ella, he wouldn’t have a way to run the circus or communicate with the members.

Wonderstein could only smile.

With the luggage in hand, he was about to return to the carriage, but then...

Beep.

Suddenly, a message appeared.

That was...

[Ella’s favorability has increased by 3. Current favorability: 3. (Next reward: Favorability 15)]

***

I returned to the campsite and once again found myself alone.

We had decided to leave this place tomorrow morning.

The one in charge of organizing the camp and directing the campers was Ella, the assistant ringmaster.

I had to sit quietly in my carriage like an old man.

It was more comfortable for me that way, and it made it easier for the campers to work.

While waiting like this, Anais’s servant came by.

Anais had written me a letter.

"I promised to sponsor you, but I still can’t trust you! Are you really giving proper treatment? You should visit regularly for check-ups! And send me a detailed report every week on what happened and where the money was spent! You need to show some commitment if you want sponsorship! If you wrote the letter carelessly!

I can withdraw my sponsorship anytime!"

Why did she use so many exclamation marks in the letter?

I folded the letter and put it in my pocket.

This young lady is quite something.

Asking me to write a letter every week.

Really. Save her life, cure her illness.

I’ve done everything for her,

and after saying she’ll fulfilling any request, what’s with the talk of withdrawing sponsorship at any time?

Wasn’t she a great rich lady? The lion, the witch and the audacity of this bitch!

Thud!

Oh, it’s finally dinner time.

Womon must have brought my meal as usual.

"Leave it in front."

But the person didn’t leave.

I realized from the silhouette reflecting in the carriage window that it was unusual.

"Is it Ella?"

There were only two people who would come all the way to my carriage, Womon or Ella.

"Yeah."

"What’s going on? Are we all packed and ready to leave?"

"Yeah. We just need to leave early tomorrow."

"But why?"

"Eat."

"Did Ella bring it to me?"

It was unexpected. Wasn’t it her pride that made her always order Womon?

"Don’t make me laugh. Am I your maid? Why would I do such a thing?"

"Then why did you come?"

Ella hesitated for a moment before speaking rapidly.

"Just eating in there feels suffocating, you know? It’s better to come out and have a conversation while eating."

This was unexpected.

I opened the door.

Ella stood there awkwardly, extending her fist for a handshake.

Ella trying to be friendly.

I wondered if the charm of "Favorability: 3" had this much power.

Ella raised her eyebrows and stared at me.

"Don’t twist it! Who would want to eat with the likes of you?"

"So, what’s the matter then?"

"It’s about our future plans. As you said, we’ve gathered the members and secured sponsorship. It’s time to start revealing what we’re going to do next, right? We don’t even know where we’re going tomorrow."

Hmm, was that the kind of conversation we were having?

I thought Ella was handling all the schedules.

It was true that there were some important matters to discuss.

"Alright. Let’s talk while we eat."

We went to the campsite table and had dinner.

As dinner was coming to an end, I brought up the main topic.

"Ella."

The most important thing she needed to know for our future plans.

"Have you heard of the Grand Prix Circus?"