Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 487 - 486: Ambush on the Road

Chapter 487: Chapter 486: Ambush on the Road

On the stage, the Circus had started its performance, but Richard had no interest in watching and turned away to leave.

That night, he stayed in a town’s inn.

When daylight broke the next day, ready to leave, he passed through the town center and saw that the wooden stage set up by the Circus had disappeared without a trace, and all members of the Circus were nowhere to be seen, which made him raise an eyebrow.

He stopped an early riser and after asking a few questions, Richard then learned that the Circus, where the Clown belonged, had not stayed overnight in the town after performing last night; they had left immediately.

This is—

His eyes twinkled as Richard muttered to himself, "Was this giving up? If that’s really the case, then yesterday’s math game wasn’t played in vain."

With that, Richard spurred his horse and left the town, heading north.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was noon.

On a dirt road, Richard reached out to pull the reins, gradually slowing the speed of his rushing horse.

Riding on his horse, Richard looked ahead and murmured, "So I overthought it? They haven’t given up after all. But what could be the situation this time?"

As he approached, not far ahead by the roadside, all members of the Circus were standing as if they were resting, but upon coming closer, it was evident they were arguing, and everyone’s faces looked rather unpleasant.

Among them, the Circus director Oliver was red-faced with anger, waving his almost indiscernible palms, yelling at everyone, "I’m telling you, unless we clear this up, no one leaves; we will just waste away here, yes, waste away here! You damned thieves daring to steal my money! That’s the money I worked hard for; how could you still steal it? How could you bear to steal it?"

"It’s our money that we worked hard for," someone retorted softly.

Oliver glared, "Who? Have the guts to stand up and say it!"

No one responded.

Richard rode up and saw the highly agitated Circus director, then turned to look towards the Clown who seemed to have been waiting for a while and said, "Mr. Clown, it seems your Circus is in some trouble?"

"As you can see—" the Clown spread his hands, "Passerby, our Circus has just suffered a theft—the director’s money is gone. Well, it didn’t exactly happen just now, as our director can’t say precisely when it disappeared but can confirm that he last saw it three days ago before going to sleep.

Thus, over these three days, everyone who had contact with him is a suspect, with the biggest suspects being us few here."

"Is that so?" The twist of Richard’s eyebrow drew his gaze towards director Oliver.

The Clown also looked at Oliver, his voice playfully asking, "Hey, director, you don’t suspect me of stealing your money, do you?"

Director Oliver looked at the Clown, surveyed him seriously, and said gruffly, "Logically, you should be the last person I suspect of stealing my money since you’re the oldest member here, and I should trust you. But... now I can’t guarantee one hundred percent that you’re innocent, as the least likely ones could have the motive."

"Okay, okay," the Clown replied with a wry smile, "Director, I accept your suspicion, but... I must declare, I truly didn’t steal your money. If you don’t believe it, you can search me." Saying so, the Clown spread his arms openly.

At that moment, the burly Tain did likewise, stretching out his arms towards Oliver and said, "Director, I didn’t steal your money either; if you don’t trust me, you can search me too."

The limping Coachman Maki joined in, echoing, "Me too, Director, you can search me as well," also raising his arms.

Oliver scoffed, muttering, "Who knows if you three didn’t move the money elsewhere?"

Clown: "..."

Tain: "..."

Maki: "..."

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward and silent.

Then, the Beast Tamer Tolles spoke up, breaking the awkwardness, casting a glance at director Oliver and directly said, "Oliver, you’re free to suspect me. But I must tell you, I’m too busy tending to my lions every day, I have no time to steal your money." Having said this, the Beast Tamer took a piece of bloodied meat from his bag, walked to the lion’s cage, and threw it inside. The lion in the cage immediately devoured it hungrily, with blood splattering everywhere.

Oliver looked at Tolles and then at the lion, said nothing as if somewhat fearful that Tolles might let the lion out to bite people, his neck shrank slightly as he turned to look at the last person in the Circus—a beautiful young woman, Amy.

At that moment, Amy was applying makeup in front of an old-looking copper mirror, looking too lazy to join the discussion. Feeling Oliver’s gaze, Amy confidently turned her head towards him, her confidence not that of someone confident they wouldn’t be caught, but of someone very certain of her innocence.

Amy spoke, her tone slightly impatient, "Okay, Oliver, no need to suspect me; I am absolutely innocent! Honestly, I wanted to steal your money, but you treasure it more than life itself. No one in the entire Circus other than you knows where you’ve hidden it, so it’s unstealable. Thus, it serves you right that it’s gone!"

"You!" Upon hearing Amy’s words, director Oliver’s face darkened, he deeply inhaled, and looking around at everyone angrily said, "Humph, if it’s not you, and it’s not him, then how did my money get lost? Did I lose it myself?!"

"That’s hard to say." Amy responded with a hint of sarcasm, "Who knows where you hid the money, maybe it was tucked in some corner, and it fell out along the way!"

"That’s impossible!" Oliver contested loudly, revealing important information, "My money was hidden inside a pillow, the pillow is still here, but the money is gone, so... it must have been stolen by you!"

"Oh, so it was in the pillow, huh?" Upon hearing Oliver’s words, immediately, Amy, Maki, and Tain all showed expressions of sudden realization.

Beast Tamer Tolles didn’t react too much, pulling another piece of meat from his bag and throwing it to the lion.

The Clown then turned towards Richard, speaking up, "Passerby, looking at the situation now, who seems most suspicious? In your opinion, who could be the thief who stole our director’s money?"

Richard’s eyes narrowed slightly as he asked the Clown, "Mr. Clown, are you trying to get me to help you solve the case, to find the thief?"

"How about that, challenging, right? It’s time to put your clever mind to use!" the Clown said.

"You make a point," Richard agreed, then shifted his tone, "But... this has nothing to do with me, and I’m also not very interested, so why would I get involved?"

Clown: "This—" found himself at a loss for words.

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