Chapter 148: Black and Gold – 19
Maya has been going out alone for a week.
She would leave the hotel when the sun rises and return when it sets.
She had a fixed place she visited every day.
It was Tettromino Plaza, the center of Yeterinpuurk.
There were a total of 7 types of shapes that could be formed by combining 4 squares.
J, L, T, Z, S, O, I.
These 7 blocks were arranged on the ground with no gap, each with its own color from red to purple.
The length of one square piece is 15cm.
Calculating, there were found to be 10 million square tiles here, meaning 2.5 million Tettromino blocks.
Maya walked quickly as she scanned the blocks on the floor.
There was a limit to the combinations that could be made with the 7 blocks.
Not long after examining the ground, she discovered a pattern.
Several Tettromino blocks combined to form around 500 patterns.
Maya assigned numbers to those patterns.
They kept repeating.
The problem was that the sequence of these patterns was irregular.
In some cases, pattern 43 and pattern 187 repeated, while in others, only pattern 368 appeared continuously.
She had memorized over a million blocks in the past 10 days.
Her head was storing all those patterns.
She tried recalling a million blocks.
Starting from the beginning.
A few minutes later, she sighed, holding her throbbing head.
Sweat dripped from her cheeks and neck.
Even though Maya was a genius, such work put a tremendous burden on her brain.
It wasnt just about confirming what she had memorized.
It involved hypothesizing and verifying any regularities within.
To do this, she had to use her available computational power to the maximum.
Maya went to a nearby cafe and sat down.
She cooled off with a cold coffee.
Rumors that scholars trying to uncover the meaning hidden in the Tettromino Plaza floor had collectively gone mad didnt seem exaggerated.
They could easily grasp the 2.5 million blocks.
And they could even organize the combinable patterns within.
The problem was what the irregular arrangement of these patterns meant.
Such patterns were likely to be substituted with symbols from a specific field.
The blocks in the plaza were said to have been transcribed from some design left by a certain clergyman.
The probability was high that it was related to theology or magic.
But even when Maya tried substituting any symbols or signs she knew from theology or magic, no clues were found.
Should she give up?
It was a problem that even world-class scholars had failed to solve despite gathering together to contemplate.
It was impossible for her to solve it in just 10 days, even if she was Maya.
In fact, Maya didnt come here every day to examine the blocks for any specific purpose.
She had nothing else to do.
The theme of the exam set by the Lekachep Circus School was Skill.
They wanted to evaluate acrobatics itself, not things like acting, scriptwriting, directing, or box office success.
So, there was nothing for her to do in this exam.
She often felt exhausted during physical training.
She couldnt possibly do acrobatics.
When Ella was here, she stuck around the villa.
She was concerned about Ella, who kept clinging to the director.
But since Reyna came, Maya thought there was no need for her to be worried.
She took out a golden flat disk from her pocket.
A memory disk.
In fact, solving this was the most important thing to her.
But no matter how much she thought about it, there was little progress.
So she decided to explore the mystery of the Tettromino Plaza floor while cooling her head.
Of course, instead of cooling her head, it only added to her worries but
An illusion of 7 Tettromino blocks shaped in her mind.
Even the director wouldnt understand this, right?
Gyaang.
A red-haired cat climbed onto her thigh.
He purred and rubbed his head against her abdomen.
Maya pretended to pet his head.
Wally, wagging his tail, exposed his belly.
He was delightful, not like a blocky calculation at all.
He was a creation of her mind.
The cats illusion combined with memories buried deep in her mind of the deceased Wally, making him appear so alive.
She knew the most effective way to read a memory disk.
It was to further enhance this illusion of the mind.
But it wasnt as easy as it sounded.
If wanting could lead to enlightenment, she wouldnt have struggled with illusion magic until now.
There were ways to guess.
Maya awakened Wally by embracing the Director Wonderstein.
Then something stimulated her mind.
She could try it again.
Starting with embracing, then rubbing his cheek or kissing his lips
Meow!
Wally looked up at her, frowning as if reproaching her.
She pretended not to notice his gaze.
She knew why he was behaving like this now.
He was an illusion formed by her mind.
And there was only one person who could stimulate her mind.
Every time she thought of that person, Wally sensed it and reacted.
And when she harbored feelings of guilt about him, the cat expressed discomfort as well.
Maya felt a little embarrassed.
She realized that scolding Wally whenever he acted up was like reproaching her own illicit fantasies.
Then, a wrinkled hand approached her table.
Miss, would you like some candy?
The cafe owner, an old woman, offered a basket of candies wrapped in colourful paper.
Maya looked at her blankly and said in an indifferent voice.
I didnt ask for any.
Haha, Im just giving it to you. Does your head hurt? Trying to unlock the secrets of the square?
Maya was about to ask how she knew, then she realized that the old woman was looking at the illusion that had appeared before her.
7 colored Tettromino blocks.
If she couldnt figure out what she was agonizing over after seeing this, she was a fool.
Many smart people besides you have come here. Using your head is the best. Try it.
Thank you.
She took one candy and put it in her mouth.
She had eaten a lot of candies when she was home.
She didnt think there was anything special about it.
No, she even thought it would taste worse.
Because sugarcane, the raw material of candy, mainly grew in the equatorial regions.
But as soon as she put it in her mouth, a softness she had never tasted before enveloped her tongue.
So soft.
At her words, the old woman nodded with pride as a local.
Thats right. Its a product of the Slagbrot Bakery.
A bakery?
Oh, its not a bakery now, its a bakery factory. When you get old, you keep thinking about the old days, haha. Do you see it over there, across the square?
The citys main institutions, such as the city hall, courthouse, police station, and newspaper, surrounded this large plaza.
Among them, the most magnificent building was the Lekachep Circus School, painted in all natural colors, but the largest building was a huge factory with a shiny metal exterior emitting cotton candy-like smoke.
Dozens of wagons carrying large boxes were constantly coming in and out.
Maya looked at the large sign at the entrance.
Next to the factory gate was a door where people were lined up, clearly not factory workers.
Half of them were adults, and half were children.
Miss, are you still not an adult?
No.
Then go there. The Candyman is friendly to children.
The Candyman?
Haha, thats the nickname of the boss. Have you heard of the custom unique to this city? On Halloween, children dress up as monsters and go around the houses getting cookies as gifts. That was started by Mr. Slagbort here. He allowed children to visit the factory only once in their lifetime. If accompanied by an adult.
At that moment, Maya remembered the offer from the director two weeks ago.
Maya, would you like to visit the Candy factory?
Im not a child.
She was in the midst of intense research on her own when he asked.
She didnt like being treated like a child by Wonderstein.
In the midst of that, suggesting a candy factory tour?
She replied coldly and ended the conversation.
But that was suggesting an outing just for the two of them?
Ways to cultivate illusions in the mind!
She quickly dismissed the Tettromino fantasies.
What am I doing here right now?
Those two weeks without Ella were an opportunity!
Maya sprang up from her seat.
She bowed slightly towards the caf owner.
Thank you.
Youre welcome.
Maya left the caf owner with a satisfied smile and headed back to her accommodation a little earlier than usual.
***
The day of trades quickly approached.
Ella realized that she would have to return to her original circus troupe next Tuesday.
The Monster Circus.
Where Wonderstein was.
A smile formed on her lips.
At the same time, her heart thumped.
Her pulse carried a sense of unease unlike before.
Meeting Wonderstein again was both welcoming and strangely unsettling.
Why was that?
Was life here too enjoyable?
She had spent the best ten days at the Golden Carnival.
Performing the best acrobatics with the best acrobats.
It felt like her horizons had expanded several times over.
It was also fun to debate with Lord Fantastic about acrobatics every night.
This was something she hadnt experienced with Wonderstein.
She used to think he was as much of a circus enthusiast as herself.
But after getting closer since Dvallchep, she realized he was different from her expectations.
He hardly watched performances, was ignorant about cultural phenomena or basic to the industry. And he had no interest in what performance to put on after the Circus Grand Prix.
She acknowledged his writing skills, knowledge about other circuses, and amazing acrobatic skills, but she realized he didnt truly love the circus.
He was like Reyna.
Doing circus only out of necessity, not because he loved it.
Yet her affection for him remained unchanged.
She still admired and liked him.
But there were doubts.
Why didnt she know his true intentions until now?
Why didnt they have conversations unrelated to work in Luz?
Then, she heard a knock on her door.
It was Lord Fantastic, as usual, coming to her room.
What story are we going to discuss today? The tightrope theory from E?
Haha, thats a delightful topic, but theres something more important.
He said they would go out to the city for lunch tomorrow.
The owner of the villa they were staying in had come to the city.
Hes a Marquis, right? Should I go too? Im not even an official member.
Haha, hes also a circus enthusiast. Hes curious about the face that appeared like a comet during the entrance exams.
At that, Ella chuckled and smiled.
Alright then! Thats good news. Who is he?
Simon tapped the invitation card in his hand.
Do you know the name Candyman?
No.
He smiled back at her shaking his head.
Its Marquis Wilhelm Slagbrot. Hes the lord of the vast Candy Turnip Plain and the owner of the Slagbrot Factory here in Yeterinpurrk.
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