On this particular night, the stars in the sky were exceptionally clear in Luz.
The whole city had a somewhat subdued atmosphere.
This was because the Rose Windmill Cabaret, which had a significant share of the city's light and noise pollution, was closed for business.
They had announced that it was due to internal repairs, but most of the city's residents had their doubts about that explanation.
The arrogance of the owner, Bouvalle, was well-known.
When an actor had an accident and died on the daytime stage not too long ago, it was he who continued the show on the night-time stage.
In the past ten years, you could count the days the Rose Windmill was closed on one hand.
Considering that the reasons back then were natural disasters and the appearance of monsters, today's closure was perplexing.
Reporters tried to pry information from the staff by wandering around the Rose Windmill, but they gained nothing.
The employees who were questioned passed by with stern expressions, tightly sealed lips.
In the end, the reporters concluded that the Rose Windmill was indeed undergoing internal repairs, and they retreated.
Besides, there were plenty of other things they needed to cover apart from this incident.
Like the brawl between acrobats, interviews with Grand Prix participants, or the discovery of unidentified bodies washed down from the sewers.
Contrary to people's speculations, the internal repairs were not a lie.
Several vital devices inside the cabaret, as well as secret passageways leading underground, had been blocked and repaired.
While the workers were busy, a funeral was being held in Hall 1 of the cabaret.
It was to soothe the souls of the victims sacrificed to the cabaret's ghost.
The funeral proceeded as quietly as possible because they didn't want to create a gloomy atmosphere right before the festival.
Sub-Lieutenant Sabo of the Luz Mounted Police also attended the funeral.
He was overseeing the investigation at the request of Bouvalle, the owner.
He had compiled the testimony of Ivonne, who had been attacked by the ghost, discovered secret spaces underground in the cabaret, and recovered the bodies of the victims. Submitting the report would have closed the case.
However, there were still many unresolved questions.
The identity of the ghost who healed Ivonne's seemingly incurable wounds, or the whereabouts of the culprit who murdered the girls.
The culprit was definitely not a supernatural being.
There were clear signs that a living person had been hiding underground for several years.
But where had he disappeared to?
Sabo had his suspicions about the testimony of the person who claimed to be the one who healed Ivonne.
Could it be that he falsely accused an entity that didn't even exist?
But if that were the case, was there any need to heal Ivonne and reveal these facts?
Sabo's deductions didn't last long.
His subordinates from the police station came looking for him.
It was nothing serious.
The department head had been found hanging upside down in mid-air again.
He didn't know who did it, but someone was determined to make him suffer.
Leaving the Rose Windmill behind, Sabo looked up at the sky.
The stars in the night sky looked brighter than usual.
It was the first time he had seen the streets of this city so quiet.
Sabo wished for the well-being of the girls who had finally found peace.
"Huh?"
He saw something faint rising into the sky from the rooftop of an inn.
Sabo blinked and looked again.
There was nothing there.
It seemed like he had hallucinated something because he kept hearing the ghostly voices.
Sabo mounted his horse and headed to the scene of the department head's incident.
The rooftop of the inn he had just looked at.
Maya was standing there.
She returned to the inn and collapsed onto her bed and has just woken up.
She had come out to the rooftop to catch some fresh air, and she had unintentionally created an illusion.
She remembered the rules of the city and quickly scattered them.
Magic dispersed into the air like sand.
It was a fleeting illusion, so vague that she couldn't even remember what she had intended to create.
The Illusionist often created illusions unconsciously.
The rumors of ghosts haunting the dormitory at night turned out to be the work of an Illusionist who dreamed nightmares, a well-known story even at the academy.
But that was the tale of ordinary illusionists who merely painted images in their minds.
Maya's illusions were different; they were meticulously calculated and executed with intent.
What had she conceived?
Maya gazed at the brush in her hands.
It was stained with paint that she had unconsciously conjured.
She momentarily tilted her head, then looked up at the sky.
Golden stars sparkled against the black night sky.
They matched the colours of her paint.
Perhaps she had unconsciously tried to recreate the sky.
Maya sat down on the rooftop bench.
She took out a letter from her pocket and held it up to the lantern's light.
It was an invitation from Arno, the ringmaster of the Silver Circus.
He asked her to join the circus troupe by tomorrow morning.
He praised the fantastic illusion she had created today.
He also commended her talent as the creator of this kind of illusion magic.
She had finally received the offer she had longed for.
Her self-esteem had been restored, thanks to the recognition of her talents as an illusionist.
However, she couldn't be happy about it.
She hadn't created it, had she?
No, what she had made was not her own creation.
Creating the form and adding the surface was all Frank Wonderstein's idea.
She needed to be honest about it.
But he didn't want that.
During her training under him, Maya had asked him, "What can I do in return for this? Do I join the circus troupe as payment?"
Maya thought there must be a reason for him to teach her something so extraordinary.
It was common sense that such advanced magical abilities couldn't be used by just anyone.
He probably sought someone with the talent to use it and had found her.
And he believed that her skills as a magician were valuable for this illusion magic.
However, he listened to her words, smiled, and shook his head.
"Maya, just follow the path you want to take. Don't you want to join the Silver Veil Circus?"
"But… I can't just accept this without giving something in return. If you ask for money or anything else…"
"I don't ask for any compensation. Just follow the path you desire, Maya. That's my only request."
He didn't ask for any compensation. He didn't even want her talent.
He told her to do what she wanted.
A strange person.
He was truly strange in Maya's eyes.
She had never needed to work hard to receive an invitation like this from the beginning.
She took another envelope from her pocket.
Inside was a letter from her father to Veil Arno, asking him to take care of his daughter.
Using this letter from the start wouldn't have caused any problems.
But she wanted to test the limits of her abilities.
She wanted to confidently challenge herself and earn her place with her skills.
If she couldn't make it, she planned to use this letter as a last resort.
But she had achieved her goal without using it.
It wasn't solely her own power.
It wouldn't have been possible without that man's help.
Frank Wonderstein.
He was different from others.
He understood how she saw the world.
He helped her find the best path according to her perspective.
He led and cheered from the side.
He acknowledged the results she had achieved.
She was happier when she heard words of encouragement from him than when she received recognition from Veil Arno.
Maya placed the two sheets of paper she held in her hand into the lantern.
The paper caught fire, and Maya watched as the two letters she had thrown on the ground slowly turned into ashes.
The reason Maya had originally wanted to join Silver Veil Circus was not only to go where her parents had been but also because she believed there was no better place to learn illusion magic.
But it wasn't true.
Maya looked up at the sky.
A black sky with golden stars.
Unless she was mistaken, she had finally found what she had been looking for.
Someone she could call "master."
AN: The master here means like teacher.
***
Waiting for me, who had helped Maya pass in Veil Arno's test yesterday, was Ella's nagging.
"I'm really grateful! Thank you so much! Was it fun? The tour of Luz? The selection is over tomorrow. Over! But the acrobat we were supposed to recruit, you didn't bring a single candidate! What were you doing? Some are leading the troupe members, preparing the program, making props, and even investigating other competing circuses. They're all so busy!"
Normally, she wouldn't have scolded me like this.
But with swollen eyes on both sides, dark circles under her eyes, and rough skin, it seemed like she had forgotten about minor fears due to the intense hard work.
I wanted to make an apologetic expression, but I couldn't help but smile.
"Just a few more days, please bear with it."
I thought I saw flames flicker in Ella's eyes for a moment.
As I sipped the tea Yurakne had prepared for me in my room, I thought about the reward that would come soon.
A memory disk containing Wonderstein's past memories.
I planned to hire a skilled illusionist as soon as I received it to try and replay it.
What secrets could it hold?
Could it contain the key to unlocking the Tril Trilo Zero?
I had invested a whopping two weeks in this quest.
It was a quest related to the future of the heroes.
It couldn't be just a trivial reward.
I waited eagerly for the day to come.
Now, the selection deadline was imminent.
At that moment, Ella entered my room.
Her expression was much more relaxed than yesterday.
She cast me a surprised look.
"You've also… put in effort."
"Me?"
What did she mean?
I could tell she was desperately holding back her laughter.
"I still prefer the traditional way, but if you can use illusion magic well, it's not bad. After trying it for two weeks… I realized that preparing everything, like the background, props, and special effects, is too much for me. My body can't handle it. It's not easy working with a lazy ringmaster like you. Anyway, thanks for bringing in some help."
"Me?"
What did she mean by help?
Ella opened the door.
Behind her, a wizard with white hair followed.
She looked at me with an expressionless face and nodded slightly.
"Hello, Ringmaster."
"Why is Maya here?"
At my words, she gave a faint smile that only I could recognize and said,
"You told me to walk the path I want. So, I came. To the place I want to be."
['Maya Rendelin' has been added to the member list.]
['Sub-Quest: Magician' has failed.]
Suddenly, a wave of fatigue washed over me, and I felt my strength drain from my entire body.