The Freak Show Foreman

After spending three weeks on vacation in Luz, we headed to the next city.

Our second destination was "Yeterinpuurk," the northernmost city of the Kievan Empire among the six cities.

Unable to use an airship, we embarked on our journey by carriage.

Originally, we had planned to travel down the river and then take a boat across the sea. However, two problems prevented us from doing so.

The first problem was the lack of a boat willing to take us. Despite gaining some recognition and dispelling prejudices through the Cabaret performances, our fame was limited to those in the industry or familiar with the area around Luz. The sailors, being superstitious and conservative, still viewed the members with suspicion.

It would have been great if we could secure the Emerald Silk, the Vergsong Merchant Union's ship that I used before when coming to Luz. Unfortunately, the guild's captain was too busy with their schedule, and traveling to distant places like Yeterinpuurk was not feasible.

Moreover, Anais was not around, making such a request even more challenging. She had left for Vegas due to the union's business, parting ways with us during her time at the union.

The second reason we couldn't take a boat was Maya.

Surprisingly, she was extremely prone to seasickness. Even the swaying of the carriage was unbearable for her, forcing her to lie inside throughout the journey.

Her face, already quite pale, became even more ashen every time she got off the carriage to take a break. It was pitiful to witness.

So, Yurakne accompanied her, driving the carriage and taking care of her.

I wondered if her strong pride would allow her to accept such help willingly, but fortunately, it seemed that they were getting along without any major issues.

Frequent stops for Maya to rest were essential. Luckily, the road to Kiev was well-maintained, and the members had developed a good working rhythm during the Cabaret performances. Despite the leisurely pace, we could cover more distance in a day than before.

Five days after leaving Luz, we reached the border area between Charlotia and Kiev.

While the members rested around the camp, I climbed a nearby hill.

To the west, the northern end of the Sierra Madre Mountain range, known as the roof of the world, stretched like a screen. To the east, the Huz Sea, large enough for an entire country to fit inside, unfolded.

Seeing both the peaks of the mountains and the horizon at the same time was a breath-taking experience.

Standing on the hill, feeling the wind on my face, I savored the view.

As I wandered around, I heard the distant sound of bells announcing mealtime.

I descended to the open ground where the carriages were parked.

For lunch, we had a dish of steamed chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes that we bought in a village we passed by yesterday.

In the past, our meals during travel were simple, but with Yurakne as a sous-chef, our cooking options had significantly expanded.

"How is it? The potatoes! Are they cooked well?"

"Yeah, it's delicious! Nicely cooked!"

Satisfied with Ella's praise, the Ratman retreated with cheerful squeaks.

He, the guy called Lupa, the ratman who took over the kitchen at the snack bar, seemed to have developed quite an interest in cooking. Every meal, he stuck close to Yurakne, learning to cook.

Ratmen, originally, only ate what was left, wore only a piece of cloth around their waists, and slept crouched under the carriage.

But living in a hotel, an experience they had never had before, brought changes to their habits.

They ate neatly plated meals, wore clothes made by sneakily taking hotel towels, and even the towels that Womon thought were torn up while making roast chicken turned out to be the ones they had covered themselves with. Now, they slept on the floor with a simple mat spread out.

I smiled as I watched the ratmen eating chicken and potatoes from the bowls in a corner of the open field.

It seemed that the idea that they were inherently dirty and unhygienic was more of an environmental bias.

"But why can't we take a flying ship? It would be more comfortable to fly over mountains or seas."

Womon was a 10-year-old kid who had been living in the mountains with his mom until recently, so he was naturally curious about the world.

He used to ask questions to people around him whenever he saw something new.

Before, it was Ella who mostly answered those questions.

The other members were isolated from society, lacking basic knowledge. Ella, who knew a lot, used to provide answers.

But now, our circus's only educated member had taken over that role.

"You can't fly a ship to the west of the Sierra Madre. The auroras from the North Pole mess up the intricate magic circuits."

"What are auroras?"

"The foundation rock of our world is a mineral with a strong magnetic field, and the… It's the trim emitted by the Abyssal demons. They consume too many souls and belch out the remains into the void. Due to the curses of the ghosts entwined with the auroras, flying ships kept crashing, so they don't operate flying ships."

Ella interrupted Maya's explanation.

Maya glanced at her and said, "Don't interrupt. Especially with such an unreasonable explanation."

"We all grew up knowing this. What does it matter if it's the foundation rock or magnetic fields?"

"It's a scientific fact."

"Boring."

Maya turned her head as if she didn't want to mix words anymore.

Looking at Womon's perplexed expression in the middle, Ella said, "If you go to Yeterinpuurk, you might see the auroras a few times. It's like shimmering curtains in the sky."

"Oh… so flying ships can only be used east of the mountain range because of that?"

"Yeah. The ghosts entwined with the auroras can't surpass the blessings on the mountain range in Sierra Madre."

Maya made a small clicking sound with her tongue, but Ella pretended not to hear.

I laughed as I watched the two of them.

Maya, who wasn't originally the type to openly express annoyance, seemed to have become sharp-nerved, perhaps due to motion sickness.

After lunch, the members gathered and read an article in a magazine released a while ago.

Under the title 'Opening New Horizons for the Monster Circus,' there was a group photo with everyone, capturing the memories of that day.

Listening to Ella reading the article, vivid memories of that day came flooding back.

The overall evaluation was good.

It praised the script I wrote, the progress with Ella, and the makeup of the members.

However, three members received a 'failure' in acting.

In a way, it was only one person, but…

"These critics… Are they blind?"

"They say acting and acrobatics are all a mess?"

"Hmph."

Hanssten, Dunnadol and Sevram expressed their dissatisfaction in loud voices, and Hanssten, the calmest of the triplets, frowned and spoke with a stern expression.

If the evaluation of the three is known to have brought down the average, there would be both anger and embarrassment among their colleagues.

While others were heard trying to console them, I continued reading my magazine.

There, evaluations of other circus troupes that had performed at the Rose Windmill Cabaret were also included.

Pandora Magic Show ★★

Composition A, Skill B, Acting B, Direction B, Personality B

: The skill of the escape master, Escape King Lweeni, lives up to its reputation. However, a decrease in acting due to insufficient stamina and inadequate development of the reversed elements. It seems challenging to reach three stars.

Silver Veil Circus ★★

Composition D, Skill A, Acting D, Direction S, Personality A

: One spectacular sight is excellent. However, dismal character depiction and a childish plot structure make the audience feel embarrassed.

Papal Circus ★

Composition C, Skill S, Acting C, Direction B, Personality C

: As expected from a graduate of Lekachep, the skill is outstanding. However, there are many shortcomings beyond that to call it top-notch.

Mango Troupe

Composition C, Skill C, Acting A, Direction D, Personality C

: The ambitious dream of a cabaret's ace dancer. Did Maroine only teach dancing and nothing else? Lucky enough to earn stars in their own backyard, but it's difficult to continue like this.

Satbyeol Circus

Composition B, Skill B, Acting B, Direction C, Personality D

: Decent acrobats on a decent stage, but the impression of miscellaneous items cannot be erased. Only thanks to the progress of the rooster Minova, it seems worth watching.

Monster Circus

Composition A, Skill D, Acting D, Direction D, Personality S

: Elevated the monster circus, which was just a human exhibition, to a level where it could be tolerated as it is. The members' acting relies heavily on makeup, and their skills are at an embarrassing level to be called acrobats. It's recommended to use props rather than crude illusions.

"How is our evaluation in that magazine?" Yurakne asked, and I gave an awkward smile.

I couldn't bring myself to read such harsh criticisms out loud.

Ella looked at my face and smirked, saying, "You don't have anything good to say, do you? That place is full of complaints anyway."

The two circus magazines, Wa and Ne, had distinct personalities.

Wa enjoyed detailed descriptions and technical aspects of performances, almost like telling a story to children. On the other hand, Ne provided brief comments, focusing on characteristic information for those well-versed in performances.

"But didn't they say that Christian Guide is the one that awards us stars?"

To participate in the main round of the Circus Grand Prix, you needed seven stars.

Among them, six were awarded by the six major theaters, but three were substituted with star ratings from the Christian Guide.

In other words, even if you passed all the tests of the six major theaters, if you didn't receive at least one star from the Christian Guide, you couldn't advance to the main round.

"But our circus troupe doesn't have any stars?"

Ella said with an annoyed expression, "I checked earlier. It's not just us; Satbyeol and Mango didn't get any stars either. Papal has one, and Silver Veil and Pandora should have around two. I knew it wasn't easy to get stars from the Christian Guide, but I didn't expect our evaluation to be this bad."

"Hahaha, Pandora or Silver Veil with two stars? Amazing. How remarkable must a place be to get three stars?"

Among the 118 circus troupes participating in the Circus Grand Prix, half, like us, didn't receive any stars. And only three places received three stars.