The Freak Show Foreman

The night road to the village was dark.

Although the lights of the buildings in the distance were relatively bright, the shadows of the trees were cast heavily on the path.

Wonderstein switched the lantern to his other hand, illuminating the ground beneath Maya's feet.

Thanks to his tissue resilience, akin to "plate armor," he would not stumble or get scratched anywhere. However, she was different.

Despite her exceptional genius, her body was slender, and delicate compared to her peers. Her snow-white skin seemed as though it would be wounded by the slightest touch.

In the game, Maya often stumbled and panted after continuous movement, even when riding a simple carriage. Wonderstein's bias that "Maya is fragile" only strengthened upon witnessing these scenes.

However, Maya was far from physically weak, thanks to consistent training in the magical arts.

Her body was sturdier than it appeared.

Her being besides Ella, who excelled in martial arts, made her seem like a weakling in comparison.

Maya, as Wonderstein held out the lantern, shot a cold remark, "Not needed. Put it away."

From her hand, a sphere of light floated into the air.

Illusion magic involved manipulating particles of light.

Creating something to replace the lantern was as easy as breathing to her.

She levitated a few orbs of light and confidently walked forward.

Wonderstein stood motionless for a moment, then adjusted the lantern again and followed her.

An awkward silence lingered between them.

Internally, Maya reflected on her recent actions.

Cold tone.

Calm expression.

Definite refusal.

Had she once again deviated from the standard, committing a breach of etiquette?

If the other person was anyone else, she wouldn't have agonized over such matters.

She had grown accustomed to the gaze that perceived her as an oddity.

No matter what people said, she would ignore them and follow her own path.

However, she didn't want Wonderstein to view her in that way.

What if his warm smile, always present, turned into disappointment or annoyance?

Genius, but ignorant.

A woman with no status.

I really don't want to compromise.

The faces of those who looked down on her blended with Wonderstein's expression.

Her heart thumped.

That would be…

That would be an incredibly difficult thing to endure.

"I didn't mean to ignore you, Director."

She stopped and turned to look back at him.

"If I seemed disrespectful, I apologize."

A smile formed on Wonderstein's lips.

Maya found comfort in his unexpectedly gentle demeanor.

"Did I seem angry?"

He laughed lightly.

Maya, feeling a bit relieved at his mild attitude, continued, "Not exactly, but… when I act like this, others talk behind my back…"

Wonderstein chuckled softly.

He found her apologies or hesitations to be refreshing.

In the game, she was truly the embodiment of 'my pace.' A bonafide Tsundere.

She spoke her mind regardless of the atmosphere or context, and yet, there was almost no way to reveal her true self.

Without using the "express emotion" command, observing any changes in her expression was nearly impossible.

Ah, only once.

After defeating Wonderstein in TT1, she did manage to display a genuinely triumphant expression.

Well, after overcoming the hardships to defeat the final boss, it was only natural.

Anyway, the Wonderstein who saw her then, combined with the present Maya, made her appear not lacking in manners but rather cute.

"Maya, I know that you may be inexperienced in expressing ordinary emotions. So, don't worry about that."

Wonderstein reassured her with a smile.

Observing his smile…

Maya instinctively felt something.

He never spoke a single lie in his words.

He sincerely accepted her.

'Strange person.'

How long has it been since he embraced her?

How well does he know her?

As if he has been watching her for a long time, can he understand her?

All the teachers who had fallen for her talent before were fed up with her personality and left.

Even the gentlest teacher sorted out his relationship with her with the words, 'It's hard for me to endure.'

But he brushed off being ignored.

Even when the headmaster behaved rudely and the members avoided him, he always smiled.

Yet, he nodded as if understanding.

A strange person.

Her reason evaluated him that way.

At the same time, a corner of her heart said she had met a much better mentor than she had initially thought.

As they resumed walking, the conversation between the two became much smoother than before.

"I read an article today, and I felt relieved."

"An article?"

"It criticized my illusions as inadequate."

Wonderstein responded with a puzzled smile to her words.

Ella had kept the criticisms away from the members, but she seemed to have read it now.

"Why is that a relief?"

"If I had claimed to be the headmaster's disciple, it could have damaged his honor. There might have been people mocking for teaching a mediocre illusion in a new way. I felt relieved because I didn't reveal it at that moment while reading the article."

A diligent child.

He felt a sense of satisfaction, but at the same time, he felt angry.

How did he neglect the child to the point that her social skills hit rock bottom in just two years?

"Don't take that article too much to heart. Haha, didn't Miss Ella say it was a place full of complaints? Besides, Maya used more than 80% of her magic power to print pictures."

He tried to comfort Maya.

Her joining the circus was an unintentional event, but she was a very welcoming presence to him.

Except for Ella, the existing members were the boss monsters he had killed dozens of times in the game.

Just seeing their faces brought back memories of the massacre and scenes of him hunting them in the game.

It was naturally uncomfortable.

So, it was difficult for him to sincerely treat them in the early stages of his previous life.

On the other hand, she was one of the protagonists he controlled throughout the series.

Although she was not as emotionally rich as the Knight or the Thief, the presence of the protagonists in the world of Tril Trilo was special.

Above all, she was the only one among the members who did not make him feel any sense of guilt. It was inevitable that he would feel comfortable around her.

"Is my sketchbook beyond repair?"

"Not yet. You never know. Maybe there will be some way later. Just wait."

Maya looked at his face for a moment and cautiously asked.

"…What price did you pay to get that magical tool?"

"Price? Nothing much."

Maya made a skeptical expression at his indifferent tone.

He did not try to boast about the sacrifices he made while giving and giving.

Strange person.

She muttered that word once again in her mind.

As they continued walking, the two unknowingly left the forest.

Stairs-like fields and fields extended beyond the hill.

There were no trees casting shadows, and the surroundings seemed clearer than before, perhaps because of that.

They followed the path beside the fields and approached the wooden fence surrounding the village.

From the perspective of the villagers, they were outsiders who arrived after sunset.

They didn't expect a warm welcome.

However, the atmosphere was more ominous than she had thought.

Even at night, the entrance to the village gate is usually open or loosely covered, but here, the door was tightly shut. Moreover, the expressions of the people glimpsed on the watchtower were very stern. Clad in armor and armed with swords, they resembled regular soldiers.

"Halt! Stop right there! You shall not pass!"

In response to the sentry's command, the two individuals stopped a little away from the entrance of the village gate.

After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man in an officer's cloak climbed up onto the watchtower. He scanned the two with eyes tired from fatigue.

"I am Knight Ivanenko, temporarily in charge of the security of this village. Who are you?"

"We are a traveling circus passing through. We came to see if we could stay for the night near the village."

In response to Wonderstein's words, Ivanenko firmly shook his head.

"Sorry, that won't be possible."

"Why not?"

"It's for your own good. You'll witness something unpleasant if you stay here. So, it's better to sleep in the forest and leave as soon as the sun rises."

"What's happening here?"

To his question, Ivanenko, annoyed, sighed and then spoke plainly.

"There's a plague spreading."

"A plague?"

"Yes. Damn it, we're currently burning ten more bodies."

It was then that Wonderstein realized. The light illuminating the village, which he thought was from fires, and the smoke he assumed was from preparing dinner, were the aftermath of burning corpses.

"Is there anything we can do to help? I have some knowledge of medicine."

Ivanenko chuckled at his words.

"Medicine won't help. This is the dreadful 'Curse Plague'."

Wonderstein was about to ask what the Curse Plague was but stopped himself. Asking about an illness he knew nothing about was akin to proclaiming, "I'm an incompetent fool."

Instead, he asked a different question.

"Are you all okay?"

"We've been inoculated with the galaxy. We can endure for about a week."

Curse Plague.

Galaxy.

He felt like he had heard these words somewhere before.

Soon, the words Minova had spoken in the past came to his mind.

"Galaxy, an elixir made by the Alchemy Guild. Originally a cure for the Curse Plague, it's also used now because it has a suppressive effect on tumors."

He had mentioned using the elixir reluctantly to suppress the disease while knowing it harmed her daughter's body.

An unidentified disease.

Originally, he should have turned back.

But once the quest was activated upon hearing Ivanenko's explanation, there was no turning back.

*Sub-Quest: Cure the Plague

Objective: The village is afflicted by a plague. Please save the people.

Conditions for Completion: Save 200 people affected by the plague.

Reward for Success: None.

Penalty for Failure: [-200 Debulroots]

A quest with no rewards, only penalties.

Why was it like this?

He couldn't understand the system's intentions, but he couldn't retreat from here.

"Maya, go back to the carriage."

"What about you, Director?"

"I'll check on the people inside and then leave. Oh, don't worry. No illness can harm my body."

Upon his words, Maya nodded hesitantly.

"I can't just leave the director. I'll go with you."

"But…"

"It's okay. If I channel my magic into my body, it has effects similar to the Galaxy. I can resist the Debulroot."

Her words were nothing special, the usual blunt and indifferent tone.

But a single word she said caught his attention.