Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 482 - 481: Drunken Dusk, Reunion in the Small Town

Chapter 482: Chapter 481: Drunken Dusk, Reunion in the Small Town

Richard didn’t know if it was his words that had worked, but after the White Crow flew away, it didn’t appear again. He turned his head toward the wooden platform and saw the Clown climb up and start performing once more.

After that, the other members of the Circus took turns performing on stage, each with their own unique style, presenting different acts.

The Beast Tamer Tolles’ performance naturally involved making the lions do various dangerous and thrilling stunts, such as jumping through hoops of fire, and placing his own head inside a lion’s mouth, eliciting gasps from the audience below.

The strongman Tain and the beautiful young woman Amy performed a play together. The script was terrible, merely a cliché tale of love between a man and a woman. Richard suspected it might have been written by the Circus’ ringmaster himself, as both the dialogue and the actions were barely polished, making it awkward to watch.

But the villagers, starved for entertainment, lapped it up, especially the younger men, whose eyes nearly popped out at the sight of the stunning Amy. Every time she stepped forward on the stage, her bosom heaving, it would elicit a chorus of clearly audible gulps.

After the love play was over, there was a large stage play with the entire Circus cast participating, all of whom had roles, including the hefty strongman Tain, the beautiful Amy, and others like the Clown Jack, the ringmaster Oliver, the Coachman Maki, the Beast Tamer Tolles, and the lion Kuba.

The content of the stage play was much more exciting than the earlier love story: it was an adventure about a Prince overcoming obstacles to save a Princess. With many others’ help, he finally defeated the lion monster and rescued her. The Circus members, having likely performed it many times before, recited their lines with practiced ease, and even the lion knew when to roar on cue, leaving the audience spellbound.

In the final scene, with Tain, playing the Prince, holding a fake Iron Sword, he defeated the lion monster and rescued the beautiful Princess Amy. The crowd below erupted into cheers, bringing the Circus’ performance to a close.

The ringmaster, with a beaming smile, tipped his hat as he stepped down from the stage to collect money from the spectators.

The rest of the Circus began to remove their makeup and once they finished, they started dismantling the wooden platform, loading everything onto the wagons.

By the time they finished, it was already the middle of the night, and the audience had all dispersed, leaving the square empty.

The Circus folks prepared to rest, and Richard joined them, leaning against a wall in a corner of the square and closing his eyes.

...

In the blink of an eye, the next day dawned, and the Sun rose.

At the moment the sunlight fell on his face, Richard, propped up in the corner of the square, opened his eyes—he hadn’t slept, but was in some kind of vigilant state, merely resting with his eyes closed.

To his surprise, nothing had happened all night.

Was this sending some sort of signal?

Richard thought about it as he stood up, and noticed that someone from the Circus had also gotten up—it was the Clown, still wearing his mask. Honestly, Richard had never seen him take it off.

"Mr. Clown, don’t you get tired of always wearing that mask?" Richard asked.

The Clown looked over, shrugged, and said, "Tired? Maybe, but I’m used to it. Passing stranger, you should know, it’s easy to be a Clown, but hard to be an excellent one. To perform well as a Clown, I constantly remind myself that I am a Clown, that the mask is my true face—that’s the standard an excellent Clown should have."

"Okay."

"Right, traveler, are you leaving?" the Clown asked as he saw Richard heading towards his horse, "Or are you planning to head north with us?"

Upon hearing this, Richard’s eyebrows went up, feeling it necessary to test the waters to gather more information—after all, the Clown’s true intentions were somewhat murky to him.

With that in mind, Richard turned to the Clown and said, "Mr. Clown, I think it’s better for me to set out on my own. Although I know the Circus is heading in the same direction as I am, you have equipment and lions, and with the wagons you must be slower. I’d be faster on my own. Of course, if, by chance, something unfortunate happens to me on the road, we might meet again in some place down the line."

"That makes sense," the Clown said, bowing slightly and flipping his hand forward in a standard East Coast gentleman’s gesture, "Then... allow me to wish you a safe journey."

"Let’s hope your good words bring me a smooth journey," Richard replied with a meaningful smile, walked up to his horse, mounted it, and without further ado, spurred it on, quickly leaving the village.

And then...

...

Before long, a day had passed, and dusk had arrived.

The western sky was painted wine-red by the blood-red remnants of the sun, the entire world bathed in an almost dreamlike haze of intoxication.

A road stretched across the land, leading to a small town at its end.

The town had a solid wall over three meters high, with wooden watchtowers built at intervals. Although it couldn’t compare with the defense of a large city, it was far beyond that of a normal village or town.

Richard rode his weary horse into the town, noticing that the houses were clean and the locals were wearing semi-new clothes—the living conditions were above average. Many people were hurrying towards the town center, and as Richard’s eyes caught sight of this, he followed, only to see that the Circus had already arrived at a large open area there.

The Circus folk were constructing a new wooden stage, apparently nearing the completion of their set-up. A growing crowd of townsfolk gathered around, pointing and chatting excitedly, clearly anticipating the performance that was about to start.

Seeing the situation, Richard touched his nose, dismounted, and turned his attention to someone below the wooden stage of the Circus.

As he looked over, the other party seemed to sense it and turned to look back before striding closer.

"Mr. Clown, we meet again," Richard said aloud, greeting the approaching figure proactively.

"Traveler, indeed we do meet again, it seems we’re quite fated," the Clown replied.

"Heh," Richard chuckled lightly in return, "Actually, I don’t quite see it that way. I’d say I’m rather unlucky. I’ve had nothing but troubles on the road that have slowed my progress, only making it halfway to what I had planned before meeting you here. Still, I’m curious—how did you Circus folk manage to get ahead of me? I did not see you on the road at all."

"The reason is simple. We took a shortcut," the Clown said matter-of-factly.

"A shortcut?"

"Yes, a shortcut," the Clown nodded, "From the previous village to this town there are quite a few routes; we’re familiar with them, so we took the nearest and easiest path. You know, if you’d listened to me and traveled with us, you might have suffered less."

"Perhaps," Richard said noncommittally.