I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

The next morning, five acrobats gathered at the judicial theatre, each carrying their instruments.

There were no other people in the hall except for the three Saints.

Today’s rehearsal was merely a ritual to pacify the Kirku.

Regular audience members were unnecessary.

“Did everyone sleep well? Have you eaten enough? Don’t forget to use the restroom. Those are the basic elements of producing good sound,” Strauss, the apostle, stood on the platform with a baton in hand, and one by one, the five ascended to the stage.

Ella on vocals.

Karen on flute.

Reyna on bass.

Maya on piano.

Everyone took their positions.

“Go, our daughter, go!”

Minova raised her arms in excitement. Ruelle waved lightly towards her father and then gripped her drumsticks.

The drum set seemed quite large compared to her small body. With her 6-year-old frame, it seemed challenging to strike the drums in various directions.

So she used her hair. Her hair twisted around like octopus tentacles, wrapping around the drumsticks as she lifted them.

“At that age, such ‘yoga.’ It’s hard to believe. How much did she suffer?”

Hopps, wielding four drumsticks, watched Ruelle wielding four drumsticks, who was stretching her body, with disbelief.

Yoga was a power often demonstrated by ascetics enduring suffering. It was rare for someone on stage to master it, but it occasionally happened due to the demanding nature of their training.

Well-developed yoga often seemed like magic, leading people to mistakenly believe it as inspiration.

The idea of using Ruelle’s moving hair as yoga was Clara’s idea. She advised Rulle after seeing her struggle with drumming at the Circus of Midsummer Nights yesterday.

Having mastered yoga in overcoming a fatal illness, it was a plausible story.

Thanks to that, Ruelle could wave her hair in front of people without revealing anything about her illness.

“Excellent! Best drums! Our Ruri is the best!”

“Dad… please stop…”

Ruelle felt embarrassed by Minova’s enthusiastic gestures. Perhaps because they had seen something during their stay together, she just stuck her tongue out now.

However, there was someone looking at the two with envy.

It was Reyna.

She looked around the audience section. There was no sign of Lord Fantastic.

He had regained consciousness only this morning, just before leaving the nest, unaware of anything, and had been brought here.

“To my disciple, I will explain the situation, so you all just play,” Apostle Diamond Queen led him underground as soon as they arrived.

It seemed unnecessary to explain the chaos of sleep when a simple verbal explanation would suffice, but she knew her disciple’s nature better than anyone else.

“Is he the kind of person who believes other people’s words without seeing them? He needs to see it with his own eyes.”

It was the time when her father would have reached underground.

But Reyna didn’t think the truth he would know would be more shocking than the truth she had learned.

Whether it was chaos or madness, it was a story that had nothing to do with her directly.

But the truth she had learned shook her existence.

She forgot to pluck the string and gripped it tightly until it dug into her flesh.

“If showing my face is burdensome, then I’d rather wear this.”

She wanted the person who gave her this mask to see it. She wanted to confide everything in his arms and rid her mind of all the entanglements.

Then Maya slammed down on the piano keys. She looked at Rulle with cold eyes.

It was Maya who was hit by Ruelle’s mistake of swinging her drumsticks to stop her father’s embarrassing cheers.

It was just a child’s mistake, but the force in her hands was not that of a child.

The drumstick flew like an arrow, making a loud noise as it hit Maya’s skull.

“Sorry, Maya… I’m sorry, sis…”

Rulle apologized, but Maya ignored her and focused on releasing her hands again.

Even Karen, who had been playing joyfully, was now distracted by the three’s mood.

“What’s wrong? Why are you all like this?”

Ella intervened as she sensed something amiss, stopping the restless Strauss.

“It seems like there’s something wrong with the atmosphere here.”

“Indeed. It feels like there’s something wrong with this place. I’m feeling nervous too, for some reason.”

She trembled, recalling the stage where punishment was executed and the presence below it.

“Will there be any problem with the performance?”

“Of course not. It’s not a particularly difficult piece. Saint Strauss calculated that if people of our skill level perform, the eyes will close one per minute.”

“One per minute… then it’ll be over in about 20 minutes.”

The Scarecrow roughly estimated the number of eyes he saw underground and said.

“In that case, we’ll be able to go home.”

“I’ll miss it, Miss Elphi.”

The Scarecrow spoke honestly.

Soon, she would regain her memory upon returning to the surface.

He couldn’t gauge how much of a shock it would be.

Maybe her liking would plummet even more than before the curse plague incident.

It was really fortunate to have shed the Wonderstein façade and shared sincerity with her before it was too late.

“I’d like to stay a bit longer, but I can’t help it… Well, so… Um… Mister…”

She hesitated considerably to speak. It was rare for her, who always spoke confidently, to hesitate like this.

“Go ahead. It’s okay.”

“So… Um, after the performance, before we go back, there’s one question I want to ask, can you answer honestly?”

What could she be so hesitant to ask?

The Scarecrow chuckled.

“You can ask now.”

“No, I don’t want to distract myself from rehearsing by asking and then not being able to focus. You shouldn’t just mumble that you forgot like yesterday. Please answer honestly. Promise me. Okay?”

At her almost desperate request, he nodded without even realizing it.

“Alright.”

The Scarecrow wondered if she might ask if he was Wonderstein. Quest fail when his identity is revealed, not when he is suspected, after all.

If she asked, what should he do?

The Scarecrow thought it was a problem without hesitation. It was unfortunate for her, but he could only deny it. It wasn’t just because of the quest.

Soon after, the warm-up ended and the joint performance began.

Kirkus’s Lullaby.

The main OST of the Tril Trilo series.

The Scarecrow hummed it with a nasal voice as he walked out onto the stage.

At the theatre entrance, Minova and Hopps were sitting with a drink each they had managed to obtain. They seemed to be enjoying themselves at the thought of going home.

The Scarecrow approached Chen Hawk. He was commanding the security forces guarding this place in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

He was dressed in a butterfly mask and a uniform with feathered wings, as he had said he would when working as security.

“Didn’t you say you wear a butterfly mask and uniform when working as security?”

“Haha, getting older takes almost a day to switch personas. I guess I didn’t get to perform the persona transformation ceremony while being with you guys. That’s the regulation, but whatever. I’m going to disappear today anyway.”

The Scarecrow was surprised to hear his words.

“Today?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why don’t you come inside and listen to the performance?”

“It’s okay. I heard them rehearsing a lot yesterday.”

The Scarecrow was about to say something comforting to him but stopped himself.

This was Wonderland. Death was used as a joke here. Sentimental farewells didn’t fit.

“Thanks for the great time. It was fun.”

“I enjoyed it too. It’s nice to leave with one good memory on the last day.”

At that moment, the Rooster suddenly intervened between the two.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Hey, we’re grateful to you too! Our daughter, no, our daughters!”

“My sister!”

Hopps shouted loudly from behind.

“Thanks for taking care of us! Come on, have a drink each!”

Minova and Hopps had flushed faces. It seemed they had actually put into practice what they had been joking about, drinking the liquor of the afterlife with each other.

The Scarecrow accepted the drinks they offered. Hawk was on duty, but he, too, seemed to be affected by the atmosphere. He gladly accepted the glass.

Perhaps it was the liquor sold in Wonderland, but the intoxication seemed to affect even his soul. The Scarecrow soon felt a pleasant drowsiness creeping in.

The four of them sang together at Minova’s suggestion. It was a song Ella had put lyrics to Strauss’s Lullaby, shocked by the vocal amount she had only whistled yesterday.

They sang one song, had a drink, sang another, had another drink, were about to sing a third, when suddenly a loud voice echoed.

“Guests, this is not an entrance!”

“Guests, this is not an entrance!”

“Guests, this is not an entrance!”

“Guests, this is not an entrance!”

A booming mechanical voice.

It was clearly that of Boundaryse, the spirit guarding the outskirts of Cardsun.

I knew its voice could echo throughout Cardsun.

Over the past few days of staying here, we had heard it occasionally reverberating.

But hearing it simultaneously like this was unprecedented.

At that moment, a guard came running up from below the grand staircase.

He too was a lieutenant like Hawk. He was the same fellow who had once captured and then lost Ella.

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Intruders!”

At the word “Intruders,” Hawk set his glass down and sprang to his feet.

“Surely not another person from the mountain?”

“No, they came from the Abyss!”

“Another army of the other Demons?”

At Scarecrow’s question, the lieutenant shook his head.

“No, they’re mercenaries hired by the Demons!”

“Demons? What kind of creatures are they?”

“That’s…”

At that moment, an immense rumble shook Wonderland’s ground.

Thud.

The guards screamed. The three of us, who were drunk, couldn’t control ourselves and collapsed to the floor.

Hawk, accustomed to such tremors from his aerial acrobatics, staggered momentarily.

“Where are the enemies?”

“They’re all around! They appeared throughout the outskirts of Wonderland and are now converging towards the entrance! I rushed ahead with the teleportation ticket to…”

At that moment, another rumble echoed.

Thud.

Simultaneously, the barrier covering the archway entrance to Card Sun began to crack.

Creak. Creak.

Through the translucent glass-like barrier, countless shadows could be seen hurling their bodies, smashing against the door.

Just as someone was about to inform the guards, the barrier collapsed.

Dazzling shards of glass scattered everywhere.

And piercing screams erupted.

Screeeeeech

Clack clack clack

Rabbit heads with elk antlers.

Sharp claws resembling those of mountain goats’ hind legs, coupled with whip-like tails.

Scarecrow knew who they were. He had encountered them since arriving in this world.

Thousands of Zakanubas poured into Card Sun.

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Chapter 237: Wonderland – 40