I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

It was only when she returned to the lodging that she realized something was wrong.

Although she disliked showing her face in front of people, she had to take off her mask to wash.

However, it wouldn’t budge, as if it was nailed to her face.

The unnaturally strong attachment seemed more magical than physical.

At first, she was terrified.

A mask stuck to her face that wouldn’t come off?

It was like something out of a Halloween ghost story.

The horrifying sight of the weeping woman reflected in the mirror only fuelled her fear.

After struggling to remove the mask for a while, she remembered feeling a similar sensation somewhere before.

The outfit she wore in Wonderland felt more like an extension of her body than actual clothing.

The energy emanating from the mask felt similar.

She touched the thing covering her face.

Why had the persona appeared in reality?

And only to her?

The fact that it wouldn’t come off no matter how hard she tried was also strange.

It was as if the mask had fused with her face.

For two days, she tried various methods to remove the mask, but she never succeeded.

Fortunately, there were holes in the mask’s mouth area, so she could eat.

The problem was that her face was itchy since she couldn’t wash it.

Worried that she might have to live with the mask forever, she finally told Director Wonderstein about it yesterday.

She didn’t think even he would know about such things, but fortunately, he quickly reassured her upon hearing about her condition.

“So that’s what happened. Don’t worry too much. Could you come to our villa tomorrow? Oh, and since Ella mentioned she’s going out, you can join her and come back together.”

Thus, she followed Ella into the streets, wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to go straight to Wonderstein.

It had been three days since she last washed her face, and she felt quite uncomfortable.

She also worried about looking too dirty if she managed to take off the mask in front of the Director.

Should she spray some more perfume?

Just then, a small hand like a fern reached out to her.

“Reyna, sister… hold my hand…”

It was Ruelle.

She was holding Ella’s hand with one hand and extended her other hand to Reyna.

Reyna, who stared at her blankly for a moment, soon smiled lightly and took her hand.

There must be a reason the Director told her to go and have fun.

She decided to follow his advice.

They then plunged into the Halloween festival in earnest.

Womon and Triamere, festival veterans(?), guided them expertly.

In the experience zone, they all carved a large pumpkin to make a lantern.

The pumpkin was bigger than most people.

It was specially grown by gardeners from the Alchemy Guild of Yeterinpuurk for the festival.

“Last week, old man Gascon was frustrated that this was bigger than the one he grew. He said it’s hard to beat local alchemists who know the climate, environment, and habits of the region.”

They used chisels, hammers, and shovels provided by the organizers to carve the pumpkin.

Womon and Ruelle, failing to control their strength, broke parts here and there, but Reyna skillfully added plausible carvings to those places as if it was intended.

As a result, they completed a pumpkin lantern that was overall humorous yet detailed with a quaint elegance.

Their creation was placed along the rows surrounding the square.

“It’s easy to remember the location! Right next to the school!”

“I should bring my dad to see it tomorrow!”

Covered in pumpkin juice, they then visited the gypsy fortune market.

There were more items for sale than two weeks ago.

They wandered around the market, looking at spooky decorations.

“Oh, sister! Look at that! Ugh…”

Every time they saw something bizarre, the group enjoyed watching Ruelle cover her eyes and tremble, competing to see who could present her with the most frightening item.

The game ended when Ruelle fainted after seeing a headless chicken flapping around.

When she woke up, everyone apologized to her.

She said she was fine, but she looked pale and lacked strength, so Dosvile had to carry her.

“Sorry…”

“Tch, then walk yourself.”

Dosvile grumbled every time she apologized or thanked him but didn’t complain further.

There were also many interesting things in the street of tamers.

Some were familiar to the monster troupe members.

A two-headed pig, a dog with a human face, a foal with extremely short legs were on display within enclosures.

Womon and Triamere, while fascinated, also felt somewhat bitter seeing them.

Walking down the street, they encountered a familiar face.

“A woman who controls dozens of snakes with a single flute!”

“The snake charmer, Suab!”

In front of a woman snake charmer wearing a turban, two men in cheap suits interjected a simple comedy routine, encouraging the audience’s applause.

“Haven’t we seen them somewhere before?”

“Really.”

“Somehow familiar.”

Womon and Triaere, who hadn’t seen Allen and Jo since their first meeting, tilted their heads in confusion.

Only when Ella whispered next to them did they barely remember and nod.

“Right. There were people like that.”

“Looks like they’re getting by somehow.”

They went on to watch a joint acrobatics show by cats and an obstacle race by mice.

Lord Dosvile had bet his meagre salary on the race and lost spectacularly.

“I told you to bet on number 3.”

At Ella’s scolding, he looked at the number 3 mouse wearing the winner’s crown and swallowed his tears.

For lunch, they bought various street foods and gathered around an outdoor table to eat.

Dosvile and the Triamere brothers, who had been cursing and quarrelling, ended up sitting across from each other drinking beer.

“Ah, drinking outside makes the beer taste even better.”

“Even if you want to drink inside, it doesn’t feel festive. Besides, no one in the circus troupe drinks.”

“The director doesn’t drink. Sven can’t drink. Bendict doesn’t talk. Jobel isn’t even here.”

The Traimere brothers, who were always together, were the only ones among the monster troupe who enjoyed extroverted activities.

It was different of sociability.

Unlike the other members who had experienced being alone at some point, they had always been together and never felt loneliness.

“You three can drink together.”

At Dosvile’s words, the Triamere brothers shook their heads simultaneously.

“No matter how together we are, we have one body and two arms.”

“What’s the fun if you can’t have a proper drinking bout?”

“Hah, true. It would be funny to toast with a glass in each hand but One of us would end up not drinking anyway.”

Having endured hardships for months, Dosvile had lost much of his aristocratic pretense and readily drank the beer he would have scoffed at as cheap before.

The four of them quickly went through over twenty glasses of beer.

“I told them to spend as much as they wanted, but it’s a waste for those guys to spend it all on alcohol.”

Ella clicked her tongue, watching them still drinking while others were finishing their meals and resting.

“Then what will you do?”

Reyna asked, and Ella smiled.

“I’ll put them to work.”

She led the group to a place filled with enormous machines.

There were tracks with trains going up and down, spinning swings, and a pendulum-like ship rising and falling.

“Wow! What’s all this?”

“When did this all get here?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this!”

Their mouths dropped open.

They couldn’t close them in the face of a sight they’d never seen before.

Reyna, too, was staring blankly at the machines, seemingly in awe.

Only Lord Dosvile recognized what they were and nodded.

“These are the latest amusement rides popular in the imperial capital. I saw them when I was studying abroad. I didn’t know they had them here in the provinces.”

“Yeah, we wandered around for days and didn’t see anything like this.”

“It was in yesterday’s newspaper. They said it starts this afternoon.”

Looking around, they saw people who had heard the news or were curious about the newly erected fences gradually approaching.

They hurried to try the rides before more people arrived.

The first ride was a pirate ship that swung back and forth.

But Dosvile and Womon were stopped by an employee.

“One person must work for every three passengers.”

“What? What does that mean?”

The employee pointed to a large wheel where several men were stretching their shoulders.

It turned out that this ride was powered not by a motor but by people turning it by hand.

Most of the men there were fathers of the children riding the ride.

“In the age of steam engines, this is ridiculous!”

“Wait! Then the Triamere brothers should turn it! I’m ten years old! Child labour is illegal!”

But the three brothers laughed and pointed to a warning sign attached to the ride.

It read:

<No one over 185 cm tall allowed.>

“Ha ha, Womon, we get to ride. You pull.”

“Oh, we’re lucky to have a strong little brother!”

“Giddy up, Womon! Giddy up! Giddy up!”

Drunk and excited, the three brothers shook their hips and slapped their palms on their butts towards their youngest brother.

Womon, seething with rage, was about to explode but had no choice but to go down to the wheel as the employee instructed.

“Hey, big guy, stand on the inside.”

Dosvile, who had quickly grasped the structure of the waterwheel, whispered to Womon.

“If you stand outside, you’ll have to use more strength.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s the same principle as rowing. The person standing on the outer part of the circle has to work harder.”

“Wow!”

Womon’s eyes sparkled with admiration for the knowledgeable Dosvile.

They swiftly moved to the inside before more people arrived.

Soon, the boat was full, and three people clung to each of the six spokes of the waterwheel, making a total of eighteen people.

They turned it with all their might in unison with the signal.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

Creak, creak.

As the waterwheel turned, the boat made a metallic scraping sound and began to rise.

The children inside were excitedly chattering among themselves.

Ruelle felt her bottom lift off the floor and gripped the handle tightly.

“Sis! You can’t let go of my wrist, okay?”

“Don’t worry so much. We’ve fastened all the safety gear.”

“Even so! You absolutely can’t let go!”

“Alright, alright.”

And when the boat reached the highest point.

The crank of the chain pulling the boat loosened, and Ella and Reyna, as if on cue, lifted their hands holding Ruelle’s wrist high into the air.

“Aaah! Sisters!”

“Hooray!”

“Haha! Let’s go! To the Caribbean Sea!”

“Whoa!”

“Ahaha, this is awesome!”

Screams of joy and fear mingled together.

The boat surged back and forth about ten more times before it gradually began to slow down.

Just as relief and disappointment surged simultaneously, the pirate ship clanked and locked into the crank again.

The children inside showed mixed emotions on their faces.

The men, who had taken a brief break from the waterwheel, put in the effort to pull the boat up once more.

“Feels like being a marine!”

Dosvile grumbled loudly.

The pirate ship ride was repeated three times before it finally ended.

A hawk perched on the top of a nearby building had watched the entire process.

In fact, it had been following them ever since they got off the carriage.

It briefly chuckled at the sight of the little girl who got off the pirate ship with tear-streaked cheeks, turning her back on her sisters in a huff, and the sight of the large youngest sibling lifting his mischievous older brothers and spinning them around.

After confirming that they were heading to the next ride, the hawk turned its body, spread its wings, and glided away in the opposite direction.

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Chapter 248: Lekachep Circus School Exam – 2