The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

Chapter 21. The Foolish Sage and the Wise Fool (5)

Currently, the Slavan Circus had set up a huge tent on the riverside and was using it as their base.

According to the leaflet I picked up on the way to meet Yard, the circus performance was already in its third day today and would continue for at least another week.

“So this is the circus I’ve only heard about. It’s my first time seeing it in person.”

As Precia admired the circus tent, Abassael was equally amazed.

“It’s my first time at the circus too.”

“You too, Mr. Abassael?”

At Precia’s question, Abassael gave a bitter smile.

“I only studied since I was young. I should have gone at least once when Wizel tried to persuade me during my school days.”

It was a common regret for people who only studied during their school days.

I lightly patted the backs of the two and said:

“Let’s go in.”

I took the lead and went inside, and the two followed me in.

As we entered the tent, it was very bright with magic lighting, unlike the darkening outside.

The circus troupe seemed to be checking the stage setup before the performance.

Abassael was amazed to see a little girl sitting on the shoulder of an ogre among the circus members, wielding a whip.

“My goodness, taming that ferocious ogre is incredible. Is she a monster tamer despite being so young?”

“Can’t monster tamers be young?”

At Precia’s question, Abassael shook his head.

“No, it’s possible. But in addition to talent, it requires courage and long training, so it’s very rare for someone to become a monster tamer at a young age.”

If it was the monster tamer of the Slavan Circus, she was thirty-two years old in the story, so she would be twenty-nine now.

Did she say she had a rare disease that prevented her body from growing?

I roughly answered while looking for Yard among the circus members.

“She must be older than she looks.”

Then, a skinny young man who was oiling a sharp dagger noticed us and shouted:

“The performance hasn’t started yet! You’re not allowed in here!”

At his words, the attention of the members who were checking the stage was drawn to us.

A hulking man who was standing and watching the members in the audience seating area approached us and spoke in a friendly voice.

“Hahaha! We appreciate your anticipation for our performance, but as you just heard, it’s not showtime yet. I’m sorry, but could you visit a little later?”

He seemed to be over 2 meters tall, so was he the deputy leader of the Slavan Circus?

Since he was the person Yard trusted the most, he must have told him about me.

At the deputy leader’s polite request, I took out the ticket I had hidden in my sleeve and said:

“Is that so? We were told by someone named Yard Tosel to come before the evening performance, and he would show us around.”

As the ticket suddenly appeared in my hand out of nowhere, the deputy leader widened his eyes in surprise.

“Ah! You were the guests the vice-captain mentioned. We’ve been waiting for you.”

At the deputy leader’s welcome, the circus members looked at us with curiosity-filled faces.

“But I heard there would be two guests…”

“When I met the vice-captain, the other person was elsewhere. Do I need to buy one more ticket?”

At my question, the deputy leader gave me a kind-looking smile.

“Hahaha! No way. We can’t take money from guests personally invited by the vice-captain. Would you like to watch the performance preparations? Or would you like to meet the vice-captain first?”

Between the two options, I chose the latter.

“If I accepted the invitation, I should pay my respects to the person who invited me first.”

“I see. Ah, would it be alright if we take care of the horse you brought for a moment?”

When the deputy leader asked, looking at the horse, I nodded.

“Yes, I’d rather be grateful if you could take care of it.”

“Emma!”

At the deputy leader’s call, the small woman sitting on the ogre’s shoulder jumped down and approached us.

“Oh, it’s not getting startled by the ogre scent on my body; it must be a well-trained horse. Good boy, follow me.”

When the monster tamer called Emma stroked the horse’s neck, the horse calmly followed her as if its tension had been released.

“Emma is good at handling not only monsters but also animals, so you don’t have to worry. The vice-captain is in the back, so follow me.”

We followed the deputy leader’s guidance and went inside.

Arisa bit into a freshly baked walnut pie and spoke grumpily.

“You said you know the way well because you’ve lived in the capital for a long time! When are we arriving at the place where the circus is?!”

At Arisa’s whining, Nivel answered hesitantly.

“If it’s the place written on the leaflet, it should be around here… It’s strange.”

As Nivel looked around with an anxious face, Arisa sighed.

“Really! It’s my fault for trusting Nivel! How can you not find a single path after living in the capital for more than a decade?!”

When Arisa criticized her, Nivel protested, feeling wronged.

“But! When I lived in the capital, I was busy attending magic school and doing an internship at the Magic Tower! I didn’t have plenty of time like you to learn magic without foundation!”

At Nivel’s outcry, Arisa grabbed Nivel’s collar.

“Did you just call me foundationless? Nyahahaha! If you wanted to become my eternal servant, you should have said so earlier. I’ll peel off that flesh right now and turn you into a Skeleton Mage!”

“Hm, hmph! Who’s afraid? You seem to want to become part of my doll collection instead!”

The two engaged in a war of nerves, pulling out their magic wands without even noticing the circus tent located very close by.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked Precia, who suddenly flinched and looked back.

Precia narrowed her brow but soon shook her head.

“No. For a moment, I thought I felt the wave of an ominous mana.”

At Precia’s words, I looked at Abassael. Abassael smiled awkwardly under my gaze.

“Ahaha, I don’t sense anything.”

At Abassael’s answer, Precia smiled embarrassedly.

“It might just be my imagination.”

Precia said that, but it was hard to ignore what she, who had senses at the level of a wild animal, detected, let alone someone else.

A moment of carelessness can lead to a huge disaster.

“No, just in case, both of you stay alert. Be ready to grab me and make a quick escape at any moment.”

At my instruction, Precia nodded seriously, and Abassael looked at me as if dumbfounded.

I gave them a light smile and closely followed the deputy leader.

The deputy leader approached a crude but large carriage parked behind the tent and knocked on the door.

“Vice-captain! The guests you mentioned have arrived!”

At the deputy leader’s shout, Yard came out of the carriage.

“Thank you for visiting. Did you have a look around the circus troupe?”

At Yard’s question, the deputy leader answered.

“The guests said it’s proper to first greet the person who invited them, so I brought them here.”

“Ah! I see. Then shall I personally introduce the circus to you?”

At his question, I nodded.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

It was good to take a look at the people Abassael and I would be working with in the future.

“First, I should introduce myself. I am Yard Tosel, the vice-captain of the Slavan Circus.”

At Yard’s self-introduction, the deputy leader also introduced himself.

“I am Arthur John Jamieson, the acting leader of the circus troupe.”

At their greetings, I smiled brightly and introduced myself and the two others.

“I’m Yuan, and these two are my friends Precia and El. Thank you for inviting us like this.”

Although it had been about ten years since Abassael left the magic world, he was once a renowned wizard, so it was unreasonable to reveal his real name.

“No, I’m the one who should be grateful that you accepted my sudden invitation.”

After the introductions were over, the deputy leader bowed his head slightly to me and said:

“Then I’ll head back as we’re still in the midst of preparing for the performance. We’re not a very large circus troupe, but I hope you have an enjoyable time.”

After the deputy leader left, Yard habitually took out a deck of cards.

“Follow me.”

Yard took us to the waiting area of the circus tent.

The waiting area was narrower than the performance hall but quite spacious to allow for stretching while waiting.

“Did everyone stretch? No one is injured, right?”

At Yard’s question, the circus members laughed as if it was obvious.

“Of course, vice-captain! But who are those behind you?”

When a young man with a slim body and firm muscles asked, Yard introduced us and requested their understanding.

“These are guests I personally invited. So about that, I’m sorry, but would it be alright to show them your stretching routines?”

The circus members showed interest in us.

“If they’re the vice-captain’s guests, it won’t do our reputation justice to just show them stretching!”

“Then, then! Let’s each show one of our specialties and boost the vice-captain’s spirits a bit!”

They rather stepped forward and began showcasing their individual skills.

“I’ll go first, Lupus, the fire-breathing clown!”

The first to step up was the young man who asked who we were.

He grabbed a torch, took a mouthful of what seemed like oil, and spewed it over the torch.

Then, a large flame soared into the air.

“Ooh!”

As we clapped in amazement, the next person came out.

“Next is me! I’m Asville, the rubber man!”

The person who introduced himself as the rubber man did a bridge as if falling backward, then twisted his upper body 180 degrees and touched the ground.

Asville crawled on his hands and feet while bizarrely lying face down.

At that amazing sight, I was genuinely astonished.

“I am Aile, the tightrope walker!”

The woman who called herself an acrobat quickly climbed up the rope connected above, then used the momentum to jump to another rope far away, displaying her acrobatic skills.

They could have simply shown a common level of juggling as a formality, and it would have been enough, but seeing them eagerly taking turns showcasing their individual skills, I could tell what kind of existence Yard was to them.

As the skills continued, Precia and Abassael clapped in succession, fully immersed.

I quietly slipped back and spoke to Yard.

“Do you have a moment?”

When I gestured with my head to go outside, Yard asked cautiously.

“Are our skills not to your liking by any chance?”

At Yard’s worry, I shook my head.

“No, the skills are plenty amazing and fun. But you didn’t invite me just to show me around, right?”

As I smiled playfully, Yard’s expression stiffened slightly.

“…That’s true. Then it’s not a conversation to have in a crowded place, so let’s go to my private waiting room.”

At Yard’s suggestion, I nodded and whispered to Precia.

“I’ll be talking with the vice-captain for a bit, so watch the show here.”

“Ah, I’ll come with you.”

“No, the other person will be uncomfortable if someone else is there, so just stay here. Navi is here too in case something happens.”

At my command, Precia seemed a bit dejected.

I lightly patted her shoulder and left the waiting area with Yard.

“I don’t mind if your companion follows us.”

As Yard spoke with a sly expression, I grinned.

“The matter regarding Leader Javan isn’t such a light topic, right?”

At my words, Yard’s expression hardened drastically.

“You…!”

“It’s cold outside, so let’s go inside and continue our conversation.”

(To be continued in the next part)