Chapter 82
“It was fun!”
After the circus ended, as we made our way out of the stands, Fran said with a bright smile.
“The elephants were a little scary, but it was so cool watching them all move! Was her name Larilura? She was amazing, too!”
“Her movements were incredible, and the magic at the end was amazing, too.”
“Oh, right. Do you happen to know what that magic was?”
Fran asked curiously. The only thing that could really be called magic was what the clown girl used at the end, so that was probably what she meant.
“You mean the magic she used to control the dolls? That’s called <Puppetry>.”
“<Puppetry>? Ah, so it’s magic for controlling dolls.”
“More precisely, it controls a type of golem called a puppet. It’s probably pretty advanced magic.”
As an archaeologist, I knew a fair bit about golems.
That was because the only monsters still moving in ruins abandoned for hundreds of years were golems and undead. And the golems of ancient civilizations were so fucking terrifying I didn’t even want to think about them. I’d seen exactly one, and it had left me traumatized.
“Are puppets different from other golems?”
“The principle is similar. Their functions are completely different, though.”
I explained. Puppets and heavy golems had different purposes and costs. The difference was as big as the difference between a walkie-talkie and a smartphone.
“Standard-issue golems have thought circuits and cores installed. They’re also fitted with parts like muscles and bones so they can move on their own. That’s why they’re so bulky.”
That was why the golems people thought of were so massive. It wasn’t that they were deliberately made large; they ended up that way as they were built.
“I thought mages made golems out of dirt.”
“Those are golems made through necromancy or alchemy. They’re usually clay dolls, like servants who follow a mage’s orders. They disappear when the magic wears off, but puppets and standard-issue golems are different.”
“Because they move independently of a mage?”
“Yeah. So you can think of puppets as being somewhere between clay dolls and standard-issue golems.”
Since they had no mechanism inside to move on their own, they couldn’t move without magic. In exchange, they didn’t require mana to maintain.
That was why it was common to make puppets with only joints, then fill their bodies with other gimmicks.
Like firing a rocket fist or opening their chest to launch a bomb.
“The biggest advantage of puppets is that they’re cheap. They’re easy to make compared to golems.”
I remembered nearly fainting when I saw the receipt for the golem-making costs. I never expected that one of the security golems wandering around the university would cost forty silver.
Those fucking piles of rocks cost twenty Nord apiece. Didn’t that make my sale price of two silver look pathetic?
Compared to those overpriced golems, puppets that cost less than one silver each were fucking likable. They were as dependable as a hearty bowl of gukbap. When it came to golems, I could be a racist.
“Ah, I see. Nord really does know a lot.”
“Heh heh. You can praise me a little more.”
─Murmur, murmur.
It was then, as we chatted and squeezed our way out of the Colosseum among the crowd, that we saw two clowns hawking their show outside.
“Step right up, step right up!! This chance comes once in a lifetime!! The Chrysos Circus is finally opening the day after tomorrow!! Miss this chance, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!!”
They were men wearing clownish red noses.
While the Plangúncŭla Circus performers had dressed plainly except for the clown girl, these guys seemed to go out of their way to look ridiculous from head to toe. They gave me the impression of some otherworldly Okg-dongja.
“We’re the greatest circus troupe in Romagna, praised with peals of laughter by Lord Haysvent himself!!”
A man with a shaved head and powdered face handed out flyers, talking nonstop.
But they were advertising right outside someone else’s place of business? What rude bastards.
“If you’d like to gain an unforgettable experience and a story to impress the ladies! If you’d like to tell your children an amazing tale! All the wise among you are of one mind and flock to the Chrysos Circus!!”
The papers the clown man was flinging around were offered to us as we passed by, too.
“Step right up!! And you, lovely lady passing by, please come visit us, too!”
“Huh? Oh?”
I didn’t even look at him, using the flyer-dodging technique I’d honed in the twenty-first century, but Fran went and accepted one.
“Hehe. I took it for no reason. We’re leaving tomorrow, so even if I want to see it, I can’t.”
Fran looked at the date on the flyer and chuckled. We planned to return to Sargadis the day after tomorrow. We had to go get promoted to Bronze, after all.
“Fran. Want to stay here a few more days?”
But after weighing a few things, I asked her that. Fran’s eyes widened at my words.
“What? No. If it’s because of me, you don’t have to.”
“That’s not the only reason. Of course, you having fun is a big part of it, but honestly, I’m curious, too.”
I still felt like I wanted to stay in Haysvent. Watching the circus just now had made me feel like I’d seized an opportunity for insight.
‘Humans are weak creatures compared to monsters.’
Even with the superhuman strength I gained from Beast Regression, I’d be helpless against a monster stronger than me. I’d learned that firsthand fighting Tabula in beast form.
To keep fighting at even higher levels, it was essential that I overcome this weakness.
Not relying only on mana, but honing the physical abilities humans are born with!
That was the physical challenge I had to take on now.
My magical challenge was figuring out how to imbue objects with runes.
‘Learning martial arts would probably be the best way to overcome this…….’
If you could become a third-degree black belt in taekwondo after a day or two of training, what in the world would be difficult?
Besides, Professor Brammatone had already taught me the basics of martial arts. I was just too much of an idiot to put them into practice.
‘Making the most of your strengths is just as important as overcoming your weaknesses.’
I’d rather expand my mana pool and increase Beast Regression’s output than spend time learning systematic martial arts. When you thought about it, training my physical abilities was part of that, too.
Having thought that far, I said,
“And Fran. You want to see the other circus, too, don’t you?”
“Mm-hmm. They even got praised by the lord.”
Fran nodded and pointed at the flyer.
“Look here. They were performing at the lord’s mansion until yesterday, and now they’re finally starting shows for the citizens.”
“That’s impressive.”
That was what I said, but personally, I found the advertising a little unsettling. Maybe because I didn’t have a good impression of Haysvent, but I suspected the lord was a bastard who’d complete the trifecta of a potbelly, a mustache, and a ruffian’s disposition.
─Snick.
That was when I felt someone approaching from behind as I read the flyer, and put my hand on the sword at my waist.
It wasn’t because I was some master swordsman. I was warning whoever was behind me that I’d noticed them, so they’d better watch themselves.
“Who are you?”
Keeping my hand on the sword, I gave a sharp look at the woman approaching from behind with both hands playfully raised. She blinked.
“Oh? Well, you caught me.”
She was a female clown dressed much like the clown girl.
Were women the norm for clowns here? Her red-toned clown outfit was playful in design, but clearly well made. She had no makeup on her face at all, but I bet kids loved her.
“Ahaha! I’m sorry! I have this hobby of sneaking up behind people and startling them!”
The female clown bowed elegantly as she apologized. Judging by how practiced her movements were, she probably worked for nobles.
“I overheard you talking about coming to see our circus, and I couldn’t help but come speak to you. I’m so sorry!”
“Ah, are you with the Chrysos Circus?”
“Yes! I’m Anasis Serpia, a clown.”
Anasis said with a bright smile.
“Our troupe leader loves rare animals. He spends every penny he earns on them, to the point that I worry about him! Ah, but I’m sure the audience will enjoy the show!”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ll definitely come.”
I gave her an appropriately polite answer, too. Rare animals, huh? Was it something like a safari park? I’d only been to a zoo a few times as a kid, so I was kind of looking forward to it, too.
The performers’ skills wouldn’t do much for my goal if they turned out to be unimpressive, though.
***
The next morning, I submitted my paper to the Haysvent Transport Guild and came back.
“Did you go without a mask? Was that okay?”
“No problem. I covered my face with cloth and used rune magic.”
I answered while unwinding the cloth wrapped around my face.
I’d finished getting a general idea of the applications of the ᚲ(Kenaz) rune from the book on rune magic. Just covering my face with anything was enough to create the effects of disguising my appearance and concealing myself. A mask was best when making a magical item, though.
“What should we do today? There’s an Audumra Guild here, too. Should we take a day-trip quest?”
“That might not be a good idea. They probably haven’t heard about our promotion yet.”
“Ah, damn. You’re right.”
I sighed. This was a godforsaken otherworld without computers or telecommunications. Unless we had our Bronze plates, we’d only be able to take the lowest-tier quests.
“Then let’s look around the city. There’s something I’m a little curious about, too.”
“……The child-kidnapping case?”
“……Yeah, that’s right.”
Fran noticed and asked, so I nodded.
Maybe I could get some information by asking the animals. There were probably other groups besides the bandits I’d wiped out, so I was planning to investigate.
It wasn’t my hobby to stick my nose into other people’s business, but leaving a child-kidnapping case alone would give me nightmares.
Besides, I had a means of gathering information that other people didn’t.
“All right. Let’s go together.”
Fran agreed, so we wandered through the back alleys asking the stray cats questions.
But we didn’t get much out of it. Unless they’d actually seen the kidnapping happen, the cats didn’t care much about human affairs.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘We’d think a cat was just carrying a kitten around, even if we saw it doing so.’
It was the same for cats. And since the method of kidnapping hadn’t been clearly identified, it was hard to know how to investigate.
“Don’t blame yourself so much, Nord.”
Fran said to me as I slumped in disappointment at getting no information. She kept her voice low so no one else could hear.
“You rescued three kidnapped children, Nord. They must be back home now, too. I think you should be proud of yourself.”
“……You’re right. There’s no point in me getting depressed.”
I cheered up after hearing Fran’s words of comfort.
I’d asked the cats to keep an eye out. If they found anything, I’d think about it then. As I reassured myself, several children passed in front of us.
“Wait up!!”
“Then run faster!!”
The children raced down the road, vying to get ahead. I was startled, wondering if there were parents who’d let their kids out on the streets in times like these, but their clothes were pretty shabby.
They were probably poor children or orphans from the slums. The kids who ran over gathered in a park some distance from the bench where we were sitting and resting.
I looked over, wondering if something had happened there, and blinked in surprise.
In the park in front of a large inn, a girl was juggling balls.
‘Larilura?’
Pink hair and a clown suit in mismatched colors on either side. It was Larilura, the ace of the Plangúncŭla Circus.
Was she trying to draw a crowd? Circus troupes apparently put on small, simple performances to coax people who weren’t interested in the circus into coming to see them. Maybe this was part of that.
The area around Larilura was packed with adults and children who’d come to watch her performance. Some children were there with their parents, while others were poor kids wandering around alone.
I thought it was strange that she was so carefree with kidnappers around, but then I remembered how some people had gone about their lives just fine during disease outbreaks on twenty-first-century Earth.
Apparently, a disregard for safety was universal across eras and worlds.
“Oh, that’s the clown girl from before.”
Fran had noticed the crowd gathered in the park and was interested, too. The performance over there seemed pretty engaging, too; we could hear occasional cheers.
“Want to watch for a bit? Even if we tip her, one or two copper should be enough.”
I stood up, brushing off my backside, partly to lift my spirits.
If we were lucky, maybe I could ask the girl how she practiced the acrobatics she’d been doing.