The Freak Show Foreman

Ella stood there, oblivious to the tomatoes falling in front of her, lost in thought.

She had just been hit with tomatoes on stage.

For someone who took pride in being part of the circus, this was akin to publicly receiving a slap.

She barely held back tears welling up from the embarrassment.

Not revealing her emotions on stage was the minimum dignity for an actress.

She glanced at the direction from which the tomatoes were thrown.

There was a man smirking at her.

She knew who he was.

Lord Dosville.

The man who had accused Wonderstein during the opening ceremony.

Though she didn't recognize the others with him, they seemed to be enjoying the spectacle, laughing at her expense.

Seeing them, her embarrassment disappeared like melting snow.

In its place, anger surged.

Ella had never lost a fight even during her school days.

She could take down guys a head or two taller than her.

She never backed down even if she got hurt and blood flowed.

The most important thing in a fight was not to show fear.

As she was about to step forward, she stopped in her tracks.

Lord Dosville's eyes gleamed like a predator targeting its prey.

The henchmen beside him reeked strongly of acting.

In that moment, Ella realized something.

They weren't just causing trouble for the sake of it; there was intent behind it.

Ella turned her head briefly.

Wonderstein was approaching her from the opposite side of the stage.

His face was painted white, and his lips were adorned with red lipstick, forming a smile.

Ella winced at his smile.

His show was being disrupted.

She wondered if he might do something to retaliate.

Maybe not kill someone in front of so many people but humiliating them was nothing to him.

In that case, things could spiral out of control.

Disqualification in this competition was one thing, but it could lead to an irreversible situation for them.

"The Monster Circus acts like a monster circus!"

"As expected, these wandering folks have no restraint. It's infuriating."

"Aren't the members dangerous? If they can't control themselves, who can they control?"

It couldn't happen.

She couldn't let the efforts of the past two months go to waste.

Ella looked towards Lord Dosville.

Her pride was wounded, but she had to lower her head.

To retaliate was what the other party wanted.

Just as she was about to bow to apologize, an intangible force held her body in place.

"What are you doing, idiot?"

A cold voice.

Ella turned to the side of the stage, away from the audience's view.

In the backstage, a girl with white hair wearing a reddish-brown beret was looking at her.

Maya tied Ella's body with telekinesis.

"What are you doing? Let me go."

"Don't bow to those humans. You're the assistant leader of our circus."

"Who said I wanted to bow? Besides, I got hit with tomatoes because of me…"

"You didn't get hit with tomatoes. I blocked them."

"…What?"

Ella blinked.

Come to think of it, something was off.

Certainly, smashed tomatoes spread before her eyes, and the smell of their contents wafted, but she felt nothing on her skin.

The tomatoes seemed to flow down as if blocked by an invisible wall right in front of her eyes.

"The leader asked. He's worried you might collapse again. Be prepared to unleash your powers at any time," Maya said.

"Ah…"

At that moment, a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

Ella raised her head to look at the owner of the hand.

Her partner, the Joker, was smiling.

"You were surprised, weren't you? Don't worry. From here on, I'll take care of it."

Rather than feeling reassured, Ella became more uneasy with his assurance.

"Don't interfere. This was my mistake."

"Taking responsibility for a subordinate's mistake is the role of a superior, isn't it?"

Wonderstein smirked. Contrary to her expectations, he didn't seem angry.

But Ella wasn't comforted.

Wasn't he the one who always wore such a terrifying expression while committing dreadful acts?

"What are you going to do?"

"After cutting off arms and legs, I'll sew the mouth shut."

"You!"

"Hoho, just kidding! Don't worry, I'll handle it smoothly. Please step aside."

They stood still, staring at each other.

Ella couldn't hold back and spoke first.

"Really?"

"On stage, didn't we agree to trust each other? Trust your friend, the Joker."

On stage…

Ella bit her lip and nodded.

"…Alright."

When Maya clapped her hands, the force that restrained Ella's body was released.

The smashed tomato fell to the floor, but there was not a single fragment on her face or clothing.

The expressions of the gamblers, who were laughing heartily, froze for a moment.

Even the usually composed Lord Dosville showed a hint of surprise on his face for the first time.

However, he quickly regained his composure.

The situation was still within the range he had anticipated.

Since the trial case of the opening ceremony, all the sponsorships and jobs that used to come to him had dried up.

He had lost a carriage to repossession, and without money to pay rent, he had to move from one friend's place to another for food and lodging.

The opportunity that came to him was this tournament held at the cabaret.

He was good at understanding the rules and exploiting their weaknesses.

When he heard the news that Maya received the escape king's puzzle prize, he waited quietly for the moment when the victory of the silver screen was declared and then stepped forward to flip the game board.

Thanks to that, he received a substantial reward from the bigshots of the gambling world, as promised.

"Indeed!"

"Hehe, if you ever have a plan like this again, feel free to come anytime."

In the second week's confrontation, due to the overwhelming sales of Mango, he didn't have the opportunity to step forward.

But the third week seemed worth a try.

Lord Marquis had prepared several scenarios depending on the circumstances.

Winning the Saturday admission ticket was a welcome event for him.

It was the scenario he liked the most because he could publicly make a fool of Wonderstein, who had caused his defeat.

Lord Marquis's mind was racing as he watched Wonderstein.

Apology, rebuttal, ignorance, anger.

He had confidence that no matter what excuse he made, he could grab the tail of the conversation and lead it into a quagmire.

"Just now, on the stage, you threw tomatoes at our assistant-leader…"

"Oh, Director. It's just a simple jest! A jest! Don't acrobats in the circus often do similar things to the audience? Has anyone ever gotten hurt?"

Lord Dosville spread his arms, and the men around him responded with laughter.

Some of the guests showed uneasy expressions.

They didn't like the troublemakers either. However, if the circus side took it seriously and stood up to them, only those who came to enjoy the performance would be at a loss.

Wonderstein smiled leisurely.

"Lord Dosville."

He picked up a tomato that had fallen to the ground.

The eyes of the people watching him narrowed.

The tomato that had been damaged in his hands was restored to its original state.

"Surely you signed the 'Wet Spot,' didn't you?"

Lord Dosville frowned for a moment.

He recalled the clauses behind the admission ticket.

<Wet Spot: During the performance, costumes may get dirty./>

He was a keen person.

Wonderstein knew what he wanted to say.

"Could it be…?"

Wonderstein, holding the tomato, threw it with all his strength—3,000 times the force—towards Lord Dosville's face.

Plop.

The tomato scattered red fragments around, far beyond what had happened before.

"Ugh! Crack! Crack!"

Lord Dosville spat out as if some of the tomato had entered his throat.

Wonderstein looked at him smugly and spread his arms towards the audience.

"This is definitely a good revenge, isn't it?"

Static settled in the arena.

After a while, the people shouted in excitement.

The audience didn't dislike fights. They just didn't like unpleasant curses and emotional fights while trying to enjoy the show.

If it was a pleasant retaliation like this, they welcomed it.

Wonderstein looked at Lord Dosville's gang and recalled the annoying trolls.

Apologizing to people who intentionally provoked and attacked was just another opportunity.

It was better to cheerfully counterattack.

Lord Dosville, with a tomato stuck to his neck, chuckled while grinding his teeth.

He had been hit unexpectedly, but he still believed that the situation was on his side.

If the opponent challenged him to a fight, they could mess up the performance as planned.

"Hey! Tomato! Give me a tomato!"

He urgently called the ratmen who was pushing a food cart on the other side.

Retaliation? Is that so?

Okay. Did he just return my words?

Fine. Wait. I'll give you a dose of retaliation.

Lord Dosville desperately asked for tomatoes.

However, the ratmen, staring at him, extended his hands.

"Squeak! Tomato! Five Zirco coins per one!"

"What nonsense! Fresh tomatoes are free!"

In recent years, Charlotia was in chaos due to an oversupply of tomatoes.

Even in cheap restaurants, boxes of tomatoes were stacked at the entrance, suggesting to eat them as a dessert.

There was no exception here.

The Monster Circus gave out fresh tomatoes for free inside the venue.

They had no intention of making a profit by selling food.

Filling the audience's stomachs and preventing them from eating food from the opposition was enough.

But now, the rat men called out five Zirco coins for one tomato.

Considering the current market price outside, it was almost like extortion, if not worse.

The ratman snapped his fingers and shouted.

"Just now! The price has changed!"

"What?"

Lord Dosville looked in the direction the rat man was pointing.

There, an illusion created by Maya announced the discontinuation of free tomato distribution and the introduction of charges.

It was Wonderstein's instruction.

Even though it was a joke, there were humans who flooded the chat with that kind of talk.

Humans who couldn't just stop disrupting.

Moreover, he couldn't ignore them and leaving them as they were would disrupt the flow of the broadcast.

At such times, he set the 'donation' option in the chat.

To chat, you had to pay a certain amount of money.

In other words, the right to disrupt the broadcast had to be bought with money.

Now, just like that.

"Oh, Marquis? Are you going to buy tomatoes?"

Lord Dosville gnashed his teeth at Wonderstein's jest.

His purpose was not to throw tomatoes at him but to create a menacing atmosphere.

Buying tomatoes and throwing them would be foolish.

It just made him look like a clown.

People wouldn't feel uncomfortable; they would laugh watching the show that he and Wonderstein put on.

Lord Dosville smiled and looked at the smug Wonderstein.

He had overlooked another experience gained from his broadcasting career.

No matter how many restrictions you set, viewers may go beyond it, plus ultra style.