The Freak Show Foreman

In a remote forest far from the village.

Under the dense and gradually fading shade of trees.

In an old wooden house rumored to be inhabited by a creature that seduces and devours men.

There lived a woman.

Her name was Yurakne.

She was a distinctive woman with dark purple hair and clear, large eyes.

It was a day in the past winter.

She was going about her daily routine as usual.

Walking through the forest to pick fruits,

Collecting firewood,

Checking traps,

Tending to her garden,

And taking care of her husband’s grave...

A small mound covered in lush grass behind the cabin.

Below it, yellow winter flowers were in full bloom.

Perhaps it was a message from her deceased husband, a flower she had nurtured by his graveside last year.

That one flower had managed to bloom more flowers around it.

She plucked two of them and placed them on the mound.

"It looks like a birthday cake, doesn’t it?"

Speaking to an audience that would never respond, she slid down and leaned against it as if sliding.

With each touch of the grass at her fingertips, she could recall memories with the man she had leaned on.

From the pounding in her chest to the gentle whispers in her ear, from the big moments to the small.

But the more she remembered, the more she felt.

The realization that the man who used to make her heart race and whisper love in her ear was no longer there.

The 10-year-old boy who complimented her beauty as he took the beating meant for her...

The close friend from her childhood who promised to be with her while tying the broken flower to her finger at 15...

The handsome young man who held her hand and ran away to an unknown place at the age of 20...

In that place where they had fled to together.

He left to pick starlight even before that day arrived.

It’s okay. It’s okay.

Don’t blame yourself.

Please, keep on living.

The man who worried about her even as he left.

Yurakne struggled to hold back her tears.

Foolish person.

Starlight?

The brightest thing she had wished for was already beside her.

Just one word whispered by you.

That would have been enough...

Idiot.

Did he ever realize how important he was to her?

He probably didn’t.

If he had, he would have known how difficult it was for her to be left alone, asking to live on.

A foolish man who always focused on worthless things instead of beautiful and valuable ones.

But...

Wait for me.

Just a little while longer.

Soon...

It was at that moment.

Rustling.

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The sound of branches and grass being crushed.

The sound of something alive.

Was it a beast?

She wiped away her tears.

Living alone in a forest like this was not easy.

Yet she had lived without any problems for the past two years.

She had learned some magic from an old wandering fortune teller.

The magic involved making poisons and remedies from flowers and herbs, and how to ward off intruding beasts.

The magic that surrounded her home had the power to deter beasts with a strong scent of blood.

She maintained the magic every day, so there were no issues.

It was probably a small animal.

Like a rabbit...

"Hello?"

Yurakne’s heart sank.

She turned to where the sound had come from, and there was someone standing in the darkness.

Dressed in all black with a black cloak.

A particularly pale face and dark hair gleamed in the darkness.

Yurakne gripped her sickle and stood up.

The man smiled faintly and greeted her.

"Are you the one with six arms?"

Her initial thought was, ’We’re done for.’

She thought of the cultists who had pursued them, claiming to hunt demons.

Could he be someone from the cult?

But if he was, he wouldn’t have said the words he did.

"You are truly beautiful. Won’t you come with me? It’s better than staying here alone."

His proposal was unexpected.

He didn’t seem surprised by her appearance.

He called her beautiful.

He smiled.

Just like her husband used to...

"Come with you? Where...?"

"To the circus! There are many colleagues like you there!"

"You’re joking, right? Out of nowhere, you’re talking about a circus. How can I trust you..."

But the man continued to approach her, seemingly ignoring her objections.

"Hehe, if a guest has come, it would be nice if you could offer a drink."

"Hey, don’t just enter my house like that..."

"Oh? You have tea leaves. Could you make some tea?"

"Listen to people!"

They struggled and argued for hours...

They spent several hours together, drinking tea with the condition that he would leave tomorrow...

They spent several more hours as he pulled out a bottle from his pocket like magic and they drank...

Throughout the night, laughter and tears alternated with each story they shared.

The next day, he left as promised.

With her.

At first, she was just happy.

Because there were colleagues in similar situations.

Because there was a man who smiled at her.

She was happy.

Until she learned his true nature...

"What’s the matter?"

"What do you mean?"

Yurakne was taken aback and asked.

She scolded herself for daring to have different thoughts in front of that devil.

"Potatoes."

The man shrugged and held out a potato in his hand.

Her expression froze when she saw it.

The round, plump potatoes she had expected were nowhere to be seen.

The potato in his hand...

Had been shaved and reduced to half its size.

The floor was filled with potato peels that had been chopped into chunks.

No, looking at these chunks, could they even be called peels?

"Are you doing this continuously since earlier...?"

"...I’m sorry."

He bowed his head, seemingly ashamed.

His basket was piled high with misshapen potatoes. They all looked similar to what he was holding now. Uniform and... pointy... and small... It was a disaster.

’I wonder how skillfully he cut them, as the volume of potato peels in his bag was similar to the volume of potato chunks in the tub. Um...,’ she tried to maintain her composure. ’Could the devil do things like this? Ruin a meal by messing up the ingredients?’

"You said you were good at cutting..."

"Well, I thought it had a Y-shaped blade in the middle... Haha, looks like I was wrong. My apologies."

He said, but there was a mischievous smile on his lips. ’He doesn’t seem sorry at all. If he was sorry, he shouldn’t be smiling like that. I was doing it alone anyway, why did he have to interfere?’

His actions reminded her of the past when her husband used to help in the kitchen and only made more work for her. Annoying.

Annoying.

Annoying.

Ugh.

’...?’

’...Ah.’

Yurakne was shocked by her own actions. Her left arm had moved without her realizing it. Like she used to do to her husband...

She had just smacked him on the forehead!

"Umm...crap!"

The boss looked at her with an amused expression. She quickly threw the knife down and kneeled in front of him.

"Boss... this is..."

"Oh, it’s fine."

"I, I made a mistake..."

"Not at all."

"Please... please..."

"Miss Yurakne!"

Yurakne took a deep breath. Wonderstein was staring at her, still with that same smile. It sent shivers down her spine. She remembered how others had reacted after encountering that smile, how they had transformed into dreadful creatures.

Could this happen to her too?

His hand rested on her shoulder.

Yurakne trembled each time his hand touched her. But nothing happened. There was no malice in his actions, just an intention to comfort her.

"Please calm down."

His hand gently patted her shoulder.

Each time his hand made contact, she flinched, but nothing happened. There was no malice, just an attempt to console her.

"Boss?"

"Yes."

The boss smiled.

The same as always.

Somewhere awkward,

Somewhere pretentious,

Somewhere mischievous,

That kind of smile.

It was the usual Wonderstein.

"Are you... not going to punish me?"

At her words, the boss tilted his head quizzically.

And then he smiled.

As if it were amusing.

"Just because you hit me once? It didn’t even hurt."

It was strange.

Really strange.

He was the devil.

All the things he had done so far came to mind.

He committed all those atrocities with a smiling face.

Just like his usual smile.

Without remorse or hesitation.

A human couldn’t do that.

Only a devil could.

But now the devil was trying to reassure her?

Was it the devil’s mercy? Or the devil’s caprice?

Either way, it couldn’t be trusted.

He would mock and insult with a smiling face and then destroy his opponent with that same smile.

All she could do was to comply with his whims.

To not cross him.

"I’m sorry. I overreacted a bit..."

Given what he had done so far, it was not an overreaction at all.

But she had no choice but to say that.

If the devil wanted to pretend to be merciful, she had to go along with it.

"You don’t need to apologize."

"I’m sorry... I mean, well..."

"That’s enough."

"I’m sorry..."

"Oh, come on... Alright, I understand. If you’re so sorry, you should be punished."

He raised his arm.

Ah, as expected.

The devil was playing with her, enjoying her reactions.

She closed her eyes tightly.

And then.

Whack.

A clear and refreshing sound struck her forehead.

And...?

...That was it.

His gentle fingertips touched her reddened forehead.

"Boss?"

"This is how I am repaying you."

He chuckled and withdrew his hand from her forehead.

She felt a wave of relief and almost collapsed to the ground.

"It’s already 2 o’clock ."

He stared into the empty space for a moment and muttered.

In the distance, the bell of a temple rang out with a ’ding, ding, ding’ sound.

"Let’s go together."

"...Huh?"

"It’s too dark for a woman to go alone at night. I’ll accompany you."

Yurakne looked at him, who was smiling brightly at her, with a bewildered expression.

Am I dreaming right now?

She held her pounding heart.

5 months ago.

Just like when she first met him.

Her heart started beating again.