I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Chapter 170: Demon in the Bottle – 9

In Professor lounge, there were currently four professors gathered.

They were known in the world as the Famous Four, the founders of this school and a significant presence in the circus history.

Hopps looked at the teachers sitting in front of him.

It had been almost twenty years since he graduated from here.

Of course, it wasnt his first time seeing them after twenty years.

They had met once at a memorial service after the terror incident, visited once for counselling before the circus troupe was founded, and passed by Yeterinpuurk a few years ago.

But this time felt somehow different.

It was not just that he had aged.

Perhaps it was because he found himself pondering about the future like they had when they were 17.

As he aged, so did the teachers.

Elpara, who used to ignite the hearts of male students with her enchanting charms, was now approaching her sixtieth birthday, and Yakovlevs fur, who always exuded vitality as The Beast, noticeably grew gray. The Vampire, Kyle, whose name suggested coldness, now had wrinkles around his eyes, and the Patchwork Legault, known for his robustness, complained endlessly about his knees.

And one of them was missing without leaving a trace.

The five of them were legends in the industry.

With their fame, the acrobats could seize the stake of the circus industry dominated by magicians.

He had sworn not to show any tears before coming here.

He used to ridicule his friends who went and came back crying all the time.

But eventually, tears welled up in his eyes too.

It was a reason that was hard to explain.

The Famous Four were used to dealing with such students.

Haha, why are you crying?

Every visitor comes here to coax us.

Thats why we end up treating students like children, huh?

The three men spoke in a slightly mocking tone.

Among the Famous Four, Elpara, the center of attention, responded calmly.

Theyre embarrassed. Understand, Director Hopps.

Please feel free to call me, Hopps. It makes me uncomfortable if you address me so formally.

Elpara responded with an unexpectedly compassionate smile.

Haha, is that so? Youve become quite dignified, our Hopps.

Because of her strictness, she was called the Witch by students, but to graduates, she always showed respect, meaning she treated them as equal acrobats, not as students and teachers. Of course, Hopps would have accepted her consideration in public, but he couldnt let her use honorifics in a place like this.

The four of them laughed at his school days stories and marveled and sighed about his whereabouts after graduation.

As the atmosphere grew warmer, Hopps looked around the professors lounge and spoke.

Where is Taming, I mean, Professor Taming now? Where did she go?

He casually asked, but the Famous Four exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

You see that? I said Hopps is looking for Professor Taming?

Hopps, are you still interested in her?

At the Halloween festival, after confessing on stage, he took a year off. Its still a legend.

Hopps realized that a person could feel embarrassed about a story that was over twenty years old.

He grimaced and cleared his throat.

I heard who keeps the legend going, Professor Legault.

Hahaha, theres nothing students love more than stories about graduates.

Come to think of it, Hopps, youre dressed up so nicely.

To impress her, isnt it?

Hopps groaned at the professors continued teasing.

No. Im just asking about my juniors well-being. Isnt the new term starting next Monday? Where is she?

Shes busy these days.

Yeah. She was organizing the closed warehouse area and found an old locker there. Shes organizing the things found there.

It used to belong to Ursus.

At the mention of the fifth missing professors name, Hopps nodded.

There was a moment of silence.

The incident seventeen years ago still lingered as a pain in the industry.

Hopps pretended to be excited to lighten the mood.

Is she still the same? Even if she becomes a professor, shell still be flustered and crying at times, right?

But his words didnt lighten the mood; it made it even more solemn.

The Famous Four looked at him with a bitter expression and shook their heads.

As we age, and as you matured, she has changed too.

Is that so?

Realizing that her change was definitely not for the better, Hopps suppressed his disappointment and lowered his head.

Even as the world changed, she seemed to always remain the same to him

Ah, you arrived yesterday afternoon, didnt you? Then you probably received an invitation on your way out.

What invitation are you talking about?

Why, didnt you have them even when you were in school?

Hopps sighed deeply, groping through long memories as something came to mind.

***

Meeting with a senior?

Yes. I heard they invited an acclaimed active acrobat from the industry to have a conversation with the students. My father is supposed to mentor in the first week. Have you been invited too, Sir?

As Reyna brought up the topic, I was already rummaging through the drawer to retrieve a letter.

Reading its contents, I replied, Yes, I have. Im scheduled for the second week. Probably going in the order of the rankings from the draft we participated in.

Its efficient to select from the circus troupe staying at Yeterinpuurk during the Grand Prix season.

Haha, we might even bump into each other within the school. Have you decided which class to attend?

I, Reyna hesitated at a certain point in the conversation.

Quietly, I smiled.

It had been a few days since we communicated through Sound Room.

By now, I knew what she wanted.

Speak up, my daughter.

Before I could finish speaking, she burst into tears on the other end.

Dad!

Yes, Reyna. Whats wrong?

Its about today. I went to get fitted for the uniform, but the Lekachep kids

For several minutes, she poured out her heart about the humiliation she endured today.

The Lekcahep students still seemed to be getting under her skin over a mistake she made during the entrance exam.

Im not a bed-wetter, am I?

Well, our Reyna is just too beautiful, I guess the kids at school are jealous.

Hehe, yeah?

She spoke with a slightly cheerful tone, her mood seemingly lifted.

Will you dress me if I wet myself again? Like last time?

Of course.

I replied, squeezing the letter in my hand.

Reyna occasionally came barging into unexpected things like this.

Still, I could quickly regain my composure.

What she was talking about might have been alarming to an ordinary person, but it wasnt so daunting to me.

It was because I had often asked others for such favors in the past.

I want to sleep beside Dad.

What if the kids at school bother my again?

Dont you want to see me wearing my uniform?

She whined for a while longer, then suddenly caught her breath and said, Im sorry for causing trouble, Sir.

Even though she sounded embarrassed, it was a voice filled with understanding.

With that, the connection was cut.

I saw a quest complete notification pop up along with a small reward.

I would prefer a quest that involves knocking someone out.

The conversation quest with Reyna seemed to leave me mentally exhausted every time.

I sank onto the couch.

As I tried to sigh it off, the door burst open without a knock.

There was no need to look back.

There was only one person from the circus troupe who would act like this.

Is training over today, master?

Gascon glared at me as if he could kill with his gaze when he heard the word master spoken with such force.

Master? You brat! What disciple addresses their master like this! This, this is elder abuse! Elder abuse!

I calmly responded to his agitation.

Before being my master, arent you a member of my circus troupe? Isnt it not wrong to train a member in acrobatics?

Im not even an acrobat!

Then am I a gardener?

Gascons mouth dropped open at my words.

He glared at me, clenching his fists.

Ellas treatment would be halted too.

This old man was now a thorn in my side.

He just wouldnt leave me alone, insisting on making me his disciple until the end.

He had set up a nasty disciple quest.

I had to make him leave.

The quest condition was simply not chasing him away.

So, I made him practice acrobatics from morning till night under the guise of training.

Although he showed his reluctance, when I insisted that I wouldnt study gardening if he didnt practice, he reluctantly began his practice.

No matter how much I refused to practice, the disciple quest didnt go away.

The member quest wasnt all-powerful.

It had some conditions.

Firstly, it didnt demand the impossible.

Still, there were no quests for treating the unique characteristics of the members.

And it didnt accept requests that contradicted the main quest.

Otherwise, I would have received thousands of quests like Could you please let us go? or Could you please disappear?

In other words, the system only listened to the members wishes within the boundaries that didnt oppose preparing for the competition and growing the circus troupe.

I ignored requests that aimed to interfere with that.

I became increasingly convinced that behind the system was the God of festivals and performances.

Fine. Lets see. How much have you studied?

He checked the assignments he gave me today.

The inspection was soon over.

I flawlessly reproduced the required skills and answered promptly when asked.

Well, its, its okay.

I smiled, trying to contain my laughter as if wondering when he would get angry.

It seemed that he was pleased that I was absorbing what he was teaching diligently.

When I saw the old man, covered in sweat and dirt, throwing me a proud look, I felt a pang of conscience.

I hardly made any effort to handle the assignments he gave me.

For memorization, I just entered everything into the memo function provided by the system and looked them up using my willpower, and the practice was just a matter of equipping skills from the skill book.

I wished he would give up soon and leave.

Shall we go have dinner now?

Uh, okay.

Everyone except Maya gathered at the dining hall.

It seemed she was out there solving something and we started our meal together.

The dining table was lively.

Since my average favourability had surpassed 15, no one was being watchful of me.

Everyone ate their food while talking about what they wanted.

Its less than a month until Halloween season.

At Svens words, some of the members looked excited, while others smirked.

Whats that?

Hehe, Womon, you said you were from a rural area of Delos, right? Then you might not know. This is a festival mainly held in the empire. Since the roots of the Holy Church is in Kiev. On November 1st, the eve of All Saints Day, people dress up as monsters and roam around towns and cities. Rural areas usually celebrate only in the last week of October, but big cities start shaking from two weeks early at the latest, or even a month earlier.

But why is that good?

At Womons question, one of the Triamere brothers sitting next to him grinned.

Idiot, if people roam around dressed like that, even if we slip in among them, people wont be surprised!

Wow! Then can we also roam outside?

The topic of conversation turned to Halloween.

There seemed to be no more exciting topics for the monster members.

Ella told me what class she was going to take.

A class related to taming was included in the schedule.

I felt worried about her.

Professor Taming, appeared as an assistant in TT2.

In other words, she was a person immersed in her own madness.

Of course, at this point, she wouldnt do anything to the students.

But I had been blindsided by game knowledge before.

Wouldnt there be any variables this time either?

I suggested to her to try taking other subjects as well, but just then, Maya, looking a little tired, came in through the front gate of the mansion.

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Chapter 169: Demon in the Bottle 8