The packed crowd slowly made its way inside the Golden Sun Circus.
Even the Ticket Clown at the entrance was squashed so tightly he could only press himself against the wall.
But this Ticket Clown was quite bizarre… It was as if his chest didn’t have any bones, and his whole body seemed to be made of rubber…
He was plastered right onto the side railing, making for an uncomfortable sight.
Even so, the clown’s face still wore a beaming smile, as if being squished like this was perfectly enjoyable.
Amidst this surging crowd, several unremarkable figures simply followed the flow and entered the Circus.
“…”
Miss Younger Sister darted back and forth in the bustling tide, like a leaf adrift in the sea… only able to sway with the waves!
Though she wasn’t weak, even the steadiest footing—without resorting to force—could do nothing but get carried along in such a crowd.
And in this crush, Reliel noticed something.
That was… the townsfolk here, the people pushing her forward… their bodies were very stiff!
In the literal sense—very hard!
To say they were as tough as iron might be a stretch, but to call them deadwood or stone… that wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.
Huff!
Just as Reliel was thinking this, someone seemed to bump into her from behind!
“Hm?”
Before she could look back to see who pushed her, she suddenly realized she’d been squeezed over to the side—right next to the Ticket Clown.
She saw the clown’s head, hanging limply from his rubbery neck, slowly rise, his grinning face turning to look at her…
For some reason, Reliel felt that the moment he saw her, the clown’s smile grew even brighter.
One hand clutched a fistful of yellow tickets, while the other stretched out slowly.
Reliel’s face remained expressionless as she pulled a ticket from her pocket and placed it in the clown’s palm.
Then she let herself be swept along with the crowd… deeper into the Circus.
Yet… all the way forward, Reliel could feel it.
From behind… a gaze followed her unceasingly.
It must be that clown, staring at her all along…
But Reliel didn’t turn her head—not even to spare him a glance.
Of course, she didn’t relax her guard either. One hand always rested on the hilt at her waist.
Huff—!
Pa!
But the next second, Reliel felt her palm gripped by another, icy-cold little hand, and then—just like that—she was yanked right out of the crowd!
“Uh…?!”
Before the girl could even see clearly who it was, she found herself pulled into a soft, somewhat chilly embrace.
“Caught one~”
From above, a familiar voice sounded…
Looking up, sure enough, she met Ileya’s crimson eyes, half-hidden beneath her hat’s brim.
“Honestly… The moment the crowd surges, everyone vanishes~”
The Lady held her little sister tightly in her arms, head tilting, a lock of white hair falling across her brow and gently brushing Reliel’s cheek.
She could smell… the faint fragrance that belonged only to the Lady, lingering in those silken strands.
“How is it? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I… I’m fine.” At that moment, Reliel—dressed as a handsome young man—instinctively lowered her head, hiding her face and eyes beneath the brim.
“Ah~ another one coming…”
Huff! Before Reliel’s cheeks could even flush, the one holding her reached out again, this time plucking yet another figure from the dispersing crowd inside the Circus!
“Wha—!?”
As a Lady of a noble house in her past life, the Holy Sword Bearer had never been so squashed before.
The moment she entered the crowd, her mind went blank, and she was pushed here in a daze…
Now, she looked blankly at Reliel standing before her… still utterly expressionless.
Um…?
Senior Reliel… as cold-faced as ever, but… why does her gaze seem so fierce?
Did… someone anger her?
Unconsciously, she nestled her head a bit deeper into the arms that held her.
“…” Huff!
“Hm?” Ileya paused, glancing down at the suddenly resistant little mute who pushed her away.
Why the sudden anger for no reason?
Reliel’s icy eyes swept once over the person hugging the Holy Sword Bearer, then, without another glance, she reached out to the side!
Huff—!
Thud…
In an instant, she dragged out an old man with white hair and beard from the crowd!
And without a hint of respect for elders, she tossed the still-dazed Arthur straight to the ground.
“Ugh… Senior’s so fierce…”
Watching the pitiful old man sprawled out, Holly burrowed further into the Lady’s arms.
Definitely a prickly one… Maybe she’s just upset from all the jostling?
Ileya arched a brow, but didn’t seem to mind… Her crimson eyes only gazed at the crowd ahead.
But…
The group, lacking any decorum, stood waiting on the lawn by the zone’s sign for several minutes.
They waited until the crowd thinned out a bit, but still, there was no sign of Veil.
“Um… Where did little Veil go?”
By now, the Holy Sword Bearer’s cheeks were flushed red as she finally stepped out from the Lady’s arms, scanning the crowd.
But Ileya didn’t join in the search for that fool. Instead, her eyes fell on the… Circus map behind them.
It was called a circus, but it wasn’t just a few tents.
It was laid out almost like an amusement park, divided into several zones, covering a vast area.
From the outside, you couldn’t tell at all.
The Circus was broadly divided into three areas.
The main tent—the [Performance Area].
To the left of the main tent was the [Amusement Area], filled with all sorts of small attractions.
To the right was the [Animal Area], where guides would show visitors some of the circus’s trained animals.
And at the bottom of the map,
Ileya spotted another familiar “Prompt.”
[Prompt Five: The performance will begin promptly at 8:25. We have Lion Ring of Fire, Clown Balance Beam, Headless Zombie Fruit-Eating, Subject Three. Welcome, everyone.]
Ha… huh?
The first line of the prompt made Ileya’s brows twitch ever so slightly.
The first two were normal enough, but the last two…
“What’s… the meaning of this?”
Ileya deliberately raised her voice as if talking to herself.
It successfully drew the Holy Sword Bearer’s gaze.
When she saw “Prompt Five,” her eyes went wide with shock!
“Ahem, ahem… Subject Three…? This is way too… abstract, isn’t it?”
Who would want to see something like that…
Holly opened her mouth, mumbling softly under her breath.
“Don’t tell me… there’s a transmigrator in this circus too?”
“Hm? What did you say…” Seeing Holly’s reaction, Ileya more or less understood what was going on.
Stereotypes…
This circus seemed to have tapped into their own “circus” stereotypes… or at least their ideas of what would entertain.
The first two items must have been Reliel and Arthur’s impressions—quite normal.
But the last two… were clearly from a certain goddess and a certain transmigrator.
Their unusual backgrounds explained the oddity.
Still…
Ileya didn’t voice this thought—there was no need to point out something that would give themselves away.
With that, she turned her attention to the other prompts below.