It was three weeks until the opening ceremony of Circus Grand Prix. The group had rented one of the most expensive hotels in Luz.
Even after filling it with Vergsong's attendants, there were still plenty of rooms left, allowing all the members to have private rooms. The hotel rooms were more spacious and comfortable than the Emerald Silk's rooms, and the food in the restaurant was fresher and more delicious than what had been served on the ship.
The bathtubs in each room were large enough for everyone except Womon to fully stretch out and enjoy a bath.
Moreover, this place was not just a place for leisure and relaxation.
There was a large and beautiful garden in the hotel backyard, which the circus members could use freely. The garden was surrounded by high walls, making it perfect for practicing without worrying about people passing by.
At first, the hotel staff, curious about what kind of training they were doing, used to watch the circus members practice. However, by now, at this time of day, they didn't even approach the garden.
It wasn't because the circus members were frightening. It was because they looked too pitiful.
"Argh!"
"Ugh, ugh!"
Pained screams and agonizing moans alternated in the air.
The circus members were practicing acrobatics in the garden. But judging by the sounds coming from their mouths, it seemed like they were being tortured collectively.
"Womon, you didn't straighten your back! Your posture isn't correct!"
As Ella's eyebrows raised, Womon involuntarily hunched his neck.
She didn't use profanity or violence. She simply looked at him with eyes full of disappointment.
Just that look made Womon feel like a lazy good-for-nothing.
"But sis, I did it five times yesterday... That should be enough, right?"
As he watched Ella's expression grow increasingly stern, he realized his mistake.
As feared, her response was a cold one.
"You think that's enough?"
"Um, well..."
"Ugh, do you remember how many days we performed in Aksville?"
Don't ask questions like that.
Womon found her 'asking' tone the scariest.
If he gave the wrong answer, he'd get scolded, and if he gave the right answer, he'd still get a scolding.
He swallowed hard and gave the correct answer.
"One week..."
"Just one week. Just one week! All you did was scream inside the iron cage or hold onto the bars and shake them. But even that exhausted you to the point of collapse. But now you have to perform high-level tricks. What if you make it to the Circus Grand Prix finals? You'll have to do that for a whole month. And you can't pant or wheeze like you did before! You have to maintain your form at least up to the level just below the top. Do you think excuses like 'I did a lot yesterday, so I can't do it today' will work on the stage?"
"Oh, no..."
Feeling like he had stirred up a hornet's nest for no reason, Womon hung his head low.
He couldn't help but gaze at the things on the ground.
'Ants really work hard.
The cracks between the brick tiles are fascinating.
Oops, an ant just fell through there.'
The sight of a giant, over 2 meters tall, crouching in front of a girl half his size was quite amusing. However, the members who saw the same scene several times a day, for a whole week, didn't laugh anymore.
They just pretended to be gloomy and showed that they were reflecting together.
But the 16-year-old instructor saw through even that pretense.
"Sven! Are you resting on the ground like this at a time like this? Get up right now!"
"Triamere! All three of you are fooling around, showing off your tricks. I told you to guess the doctor, but two of you are just standing there, and one is moving alone! So how can you train?"
"Jobel! Don't just hang on the rope, make moves like you're really flying with wings!"
"Benedict! Don't swing the bandage randomly, use the snaps!"
Ella's scolding gaze, which continued like that, finally fell on Yurakne, who was lying under the rope.
She was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
In the past, they would have shown some consideration for her, who was in charge of the circus troupe's meals, but now it was out of the question.
The moment she was about to say something to her.
The sound of a carriage stopping at the entrance of the hotel was heard.
The hotel was currently rented by them all.
No other guests could enter the main building.
It seemed that Anais and the ringmaster had returned from their outing.
Anais's angry voice and the ringmaster's calm voice alternately echoed.
They couldn't hear the exact content, but the calm attitude of Wonderstein seemed to exacerbate Anais's anger.
A little later, Wonderstein, with a smile on his lips, came into the garden where the members were practicing.
"Good job, everyone."
Wonderstein laughed as he looked at the faces of the members looking at him.
There was even "joy" in the eyes of the members looking at him.
The practice was scheduled until the ringmaster arrived.
Ella shouted at the members.
"Okay. Training for today ends here. Everyone, go wash up!"
As Ella's words fell, the members rushed into the building.
It remains a mystery who they were trying to stay away from, the ringmaster or the assistant ringmaster!
Yurakne stood still for a moment, but quickly disappeared into the building, smelling the sweat from her body.
Ella sat down on the bench with a thud.
"You came earlier than I thought."
"Oh, Anais got angry."
"...Don't mess with the sponsor's feelings too much."
Wonderstein looked around at the sweaty dirt and grass.
There were many rough traces here and there.
"Is training too harsh?"
"Do you have any complaints? You said you wanted to go to the Circus Grand Prix finals."
"No, I'm fine... But I wonder if Ella is starting to be disliked."
The only outlet for Wonderstein to communicate with the members was Ella.
If Ella starts to be disliked for no reason, it would become difficult for him too.
"Just say it. If you work hard for another two and a half years, you can be free from me."
"...It's not the time to say that yet."
"Why not? If you say it, everyone will work hard, and there won't be any resentment towards Ella."
Ella took off her hat.
The dove inside jumped out and flew into the sky.
She scratched her head.
"I don't know exactly either. But I have experienced it at the circus school. When the teacher moves to gain the favour of the student... Well, things don't go well. And until the reward in the distant future that hasn't even come yet, the motivation only increases for a while. About two weeks later, everyone just imagines that they have received that reward. To endure hard work, you need evil and guts. But our members don't have that yet. Until they have it, I won't tell them."
She was like an adult.
She had more social experience than the average 16-year-old and was skilled at dealing with people.
It was a bit embarrassing.
Even he finds it difficult to build minimal interaction without the displayed likability score.
"At least raise it to 20% before the competition starts."
"What percent is it now?"
"10%... A little less..."
Ella had been mentioning the percentage she had in mind for some time now.
It meant how much of the script written by Wonderstein they could digest out of a total of 100%.
The script he wrote was perfect in every way.
The problem was that the members' skills were still lacking to fully implement it.
Acting, talent, costumes, makeup, equipment, direction, everything was lacking.
What had been performed in Aksville was referred to as a "summary version" and it was embarrassing to call it that.
Basic structure was the only thing left, and acrobatics or difficult acting were all omitted.
For example, performances like the Spider Woman's entrance performance, "hanging upside down from the ceiling and coming down on a rope," or the vampire, "overcoming something with horns," or the skeleton clown, "splitting arms and legs into several pieces and crawling separately before merging at the same time" were like that.
Those movements required advanced skills in tightrope walking, strength showmanship, and ground acrobatics.
It was by no means an easy task.
Even for acrobats who had practiced for several years since childhood, it was difficult.
However, all the talents assigned to them were composed of things that they could digest perfectly.
Their unique body structure and synergy allowed them to achieve many times greater effects with much less effort.
Two and a half years later.
It was enough.
"I'm confident. If I can fully utilize everything in this script, it's not just about advancing to the finals, but winning is not a dream."
"Hmm, is that so?"
In fact, the script he wrote merely described the backgrounds and props of each boss stage in TT1, as well as the lines and actions of the members who appeared as bosses, and their attack patterns. While TT1 received decent reviews in terms of art, it wasn't considered the pinnacle of storytelling. Most of it was homage to existing monster and horror genres.
But this was a time when there were no games, let alone movies.
The scenes of the game he wanted to create contained ideas and direction that exceeded the imagination of the people here.
"Well, then I should shower before dinner."
Ella stood up from her seat.
Wonderstein had prepared something to say to her.
"Ella, would you like to go see a performance with me tomorrow?"
"...What? You and me?"
Her expression deteriorated as if she had heard something unbearable.
Since the incident ten days ago, the two of them had been able to have quite necessary conversations for work, but they had never thought of going out together for leisure.
"It's for work."
"For work...?"
Ella looked at him suspiciously.
Wonderstein smiled mischievously.
"I'm just going to watch 'The Rose Windmill' in advance. Today, I went there and the ticket scalpers were giving out free tickets. Aren't you curious? The power of the 'Six Great Theaters' selected as the trial venues for the Circus Grand Prix Preliminary."
At his words, Ella's disgruntled expression softened, and her eyes lit up.
The Six Great Theaters.
It was a term that didn't even exist until a year ago.
But this time, they had been selected as trial venues for the Circus Grand Prix, and it was annoying that it felt like they were being carefully judged, as if they were the world's best theaters.
She wanted to see it with her own eyes.
"...I'm curious, but isn't it a place where only adults are allowed? It's a cabaret."
"They also have performances for local residents during the day. Everyone can enter there."
"...Well, okay. I guess I'll have to let the members have self-practice tomorrow."
At Ella's words, Wonderstein smiled contentedly.
["Member Quest - Day Off! Day Off! Day Off!" completed.]
["Member Quest - I Want to Rest" completed.]
["Member Quest - Can someone please take the deputy ringmaster?"...]
[Sven's favorability has increased by 2. Current favorability: 5 (Next reward: favorability15)]
[Benedict's favorability has increased by 1. Current favorability: 4 (Next reward: favorability15)]
[Womon's affinity...]
It was a long-awaited harvest of affinity.Oh goodie!