Chapter 38: Magician Maya (1)
The police officers of Luz were known for their friendliness towards tourists. Not only did they escort hotel guests all the way to their accommodations, but they were also willing to provide late-night security when travellers requested it.
However, their seemingly boundless kindness was now wearing thin.
Several incidents had occurred consecutively over the past few days. Some were comical, while others were serious. These incidents played out with slight variations each day.
There were runaway lions, clowns popping out of toilets, department heads suspended in mid-air, twisted wagon wheels, unicyclists riding alone, banana peels that guaranteed a slip, and more. Trouble seemed to spring up everywhere in the city.
Most of the problems the police usually dealt with could be resolved with their batons, which had an excellent effect on correcting people's irrational behaviour. Drunken sailors causing a ruckus, radio pirates, pickpockets, and rowdy brawlers fell under this category. There was no need to ponder the methods for handling them; the police department had detailed guidelines for such cases.
However, in the current wave of irrational incidents, no one knew how to wield a baton to bring the situation under control. Runaway tigers, clowns appearing from pots, department heads hanging in the air, mangled carriage wheels, rolling orbs on their own, exploding apples when touched, and other events occurred daily, turning the police station into a constant hubbub.
"Don't push so roughly!"
"I heard Luz's police officers are friendly, but this is anything but!"
"I used to be a court jester in the Kieff Imperial Palace!"
As another group of acrobats came in wearing handcuffs, the deputy commander of the mounted police was certain that the current mayor, who had decided to host the Grand Prix de Circus next year, had lost significant support from the police officers in the upcoming elections.
"Stop taking off those handcuffs!"
"Hehe, what should I do when the handcuffs keep slipping off?"
A scuffle broke out as they were being led to the detention centre. The handcuffs were not faulty; it was just that the acrobat's hand seemed to stretch like rubber and slip right through the cuffs.
The police officers sighed as they watched the spectacle. Just a month ago, they might have found it amusing, but they had all lost that luxury now.
"Yenche's Magic Troupe."
"They've reached an impressive level."
"They seem to have mastered Inspira too."
"Is it some kind of bone-melting ability?"
Watching the scene, the other acrobats exchanged words and shook their heads in disbelief.
In the eyes of the police officers, it was an astonishing situation. "Don't act like this is an everyday occurrence."
The deputy commander wanted to shout at them, but he had to manage the situation. He approached an elderly man slumbering in a corner chair.
"Father, it seems we need your help."
"Ugh. You're back again?"
The elderly priest with snow-white hair and a hunched posture struggled to rise. He had always been an old man with wispy white hair and wrinkles, but in recent days, his hair had grown whiter, and his wrinkles deeper. He tidied his priestly robes and approached the acrobat who was playing tricks on the police officers.
"Um, what are you?"
The priest didn't respond but stared silently at him.
He smelled of alcohol.
"Inspira is real."
The priest closed his eyes and began to recite a prayer.
Several deeply religious police officers standing nearby followed along with the priest's prayer.
The man who had been playing around with handcuffs realized that something was going terribly wrong.
"Uh, Your Grace? F-Father? Please don't do that! Huh? I'll keep the handcuffs secure!"
The man hurriedly pushed his hands back into the handcuffs.
But the priest did not stop reciting his prayer.
"I, I beg you!"
The power of the clergy in the Church of St. John was well-known in the world.
Other acrobats stepped back, making sounds like deflating balloons.
When the prayer ended, a silver cross appeared before the priest.
A holy, sacred cross.
Its long end was sharp.
Its overall shape resembled a stake.
"Sacred Stake!"
Some of the acrobats screamed as they looked at the silver cross.
Some shivered and tried to move away from it.
Even the illusionist, who had it right in front of his nose, gritted his teeth.
"No! Reverend, I made a mistake! P-Please, not that!"
Despite the man's pleading, the priest swung his hand with an indifferent expression.
The silver cross flew at a speed that was neither fast nor slow and impaled the man's shoulder.
"Aaaargh!"
The impact felt like being hit with a solid club.
There was no blood or visible injury.
Because the Sacred Stake was not a real physical stake.
But the man impaled on it would have preferred a real stake.
Even though he struggled to reason through the handcuffs, he felt his hand stiffening.
The numbness disappeared. His hand had turned into an ordinary hand.
"I, I lost the connection!"
The man screamed.
Inspira... the blessing he received from Kirku... had disappeared!
Other acrobats murmured anxiously.
"It seems the rumours were true."
"I've never seen anyone use a stake like that."
"Did he really lose Inspira?"
"This is too much, isn't it?"
"Yeah, we didn't do anything that wrong."
They had caused trouble, that was true.
But they had only been locked up for a few days and were prepared to pay a fine.
But calling in the priests of the Holy Church and stripping them of their faith like a religious trial?
Astonishment, fear, and humiliation.
A sense of unusual hostility spread among the acrobats.
A deputy who sensed the atmosphere quickly stepped forward.
"Inspira hasn't disappeared. It's just temporarily blocked."
The man, tears in his eyes, looked up at the priest.
"R-Really?"
"That's right. People like the Archbishop or the Heresy Inquisitor could completely erase it if they wanted to. But I don't have that ability. Right now, it's just a temporary block."
"Oh, thank goodness!"
The man jumped in place, performing a somersault in mid-air.
The silver stake impaled in his shoulder seemed completely unperturbed.
"There was no physical force in it."
"May the glory of Kirku be with us!"
At the man's shout, the acrobats in and around the circus tent erupted into cheers and shouts.
The elderly priest withdrew with a disapproving expression.
Kirku, Kirku, Kirku.
For the past few days, it had been ringing in his ears like a persistent mosquito.
Why did people like such nonsense?
No matter how harmless the fellow may be to the people, he was still just one of the devils dwelling in the Abyss.
The elderly priest reaffirmed his faith once again and lay down with a tired expression.
The adjutant thanked him and got up from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm heading towards the Rose Windmill. Mr. Bouvalle said he has some matters to handle quietly."
"Oh, I see. More problems with those clowns, I suppose. It must be tough over there too. Can they handle it on their own without Grand Fini...?"
"Haha, we'll have to work together."
The adjutant gathered the materials he had prepared in advance and left.
It was records of teenage girls who had gone missing in the past few years.
***
Triplets with one body and three heads, a Triamere.
From left to right, their names were Hanssten, Dunnadol, and Sevram.
They didn't consider themselves to have a hierarchical relationship.
But on official documents, they were listed as the first, second, and third, respectively.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Well, it's more convenient for us to count as one, two, three from the left, but you brothers aren't like that. Why did you start with one, two, three from the right?"
Womon occasionally asked random questions.
The curiosity of a 10-year-old child.
Sevram, the third one, looked at him with a warm smile.
"Usually, names are given by the people who see us, not by ourselves."
"Ah."
Womon scratched the back of his head.
Now that he thought about it, it was a natural thing.
At that moment, at the entrance of the hotel, the guests were being welcomed by the adjutant.
The triplets looked somewhat awkward and spoke in unison with strained voices.
"We'll check elsewhere."
"I think our pursuit is in a different direction."
"We need to consult with our colleague."
The other members laughed out loud.
In the past few days, they had heard these words countless times.
It seemed as if they had collectively purchased lines from somewhere, as their words were almost identical.
Ella also smiled with an annoyed expression as she heard their complaints from a distance.
"This time, it's a tie. One against one against one."
In the past few days, the Wonderstein Circus worked hard to accept new members.
The ringmaster and the assistant ringmaster scoured the streets in search of acrobats who seemed promising.
Bringing them to the hotel was easy.
After all, they had the sponsorship of the Vergsong Merchant Guild.
However, the acrobats they brought in changed their expressions drastically after checking the condition of the members.
Then, they made various excuses and never came back.
Now, even the members who welcomed the guests were starting to show signs of irritation.
Hesitant glances.
Scornful looks.
Sighs that seemed to come naturally.
The attitudes of the acrobats towards them were consistent.
Their expressions seemed to say, "How dare you perform on stage among us?"
"Still, I thought it would be different this time."
"Yeah. I hoped they wouldn't be so blatantly disappointed..."
"The ringmaster said he helped those three. It's just a matter of courtesy."
The grumbling that began like this gradually turned into self-blame and self-reproach.
"Now I'm getting scared."
"How much will they criticize us when we participate in the competition..."
"Can we do it? We don't have any proper acrobats except Ella."
"We'll just get a lot of insults."
The members' discussions escalated from complaints to self-doubt.
"I'm worried now."
"It's not about the number of people; it's not about winning."
"Ella said so. If we can complete the tasks assigned to us 100%, it's not just a dream to win. Our skills have improved significantly in the past two weeks, just as Ella promised. Isn't that right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement with Yurakne's words.
Indeed, their skills had improved dramatically compared to before.
Their abilities to learn new tricks were so well-suited to their physical characteristics that it took only a day or two to master what would normally take several months.
They had reason to be proud.
"All right. Let those people perform on the streets for the rest of their lives."
"Yeah. Let's go out to the Grand Circus Prix Finals and show off our skills."
The determination of the members was renewed.
Yurakne smiled and looked at Ella.
Ella smiled back, showing her gratitude by nodding her head slightly.
"If it weren't for you, Yurakne, I would have said something again."
"Haha, I went first because I was scared."
When Yuakne playfully rolled her eyes, Ella burst into laughter.
"But where did the ringmaster go?"
"He's at the square again. He's looking for other acrobats. I've given up by now."
Ella sighed slightly as she looked towards the square.
She had expected it to be difficult, but she hadn't known it would be this challenging.
The Monster Circus.
The prejudice against it ran deep among the acrobats.
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