Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 488 - 487: Black Castle

Chapter 488: Chapter 487: Black Castle

"Alright, Mr. Clown, and your circus companions," Richard looked at the Clown seriously and said, "I sympathize with your situation and hope you can resolve it soon, but I must be on my way, so I really can’t get involved. Goodbye." After saying this, Richard mounted his horse and was about to leave.

"Hold on!"

At that moment, the Circus Ringmaster Oliver rushed in front of the horse, stretching out his hand to stop him: "Kid, you... you’re not allowed to leave!"

"What’s the matter?"

"You’re a suspect!"

"Hmm?"

"During these three days, aside from our circus people, you’ve spent the most time here, as long as an entire night! Plus, my money was hidden very well, and after you spent the night, it vanished? Now, you’re in such a hurry to leave; the suspicion is very great!" Oliver exclaimed loudly, "So unless you can find the real thief, you are the thief!"

"So that’s how it is, it seems a bit difficult to stay out of it," Richard murmured softly.

The Clown spoke hauntingly, "Passerby, it seems you only have one way now, which is to help us find the real thief. Speaking of which, I’m quite looking forward to your performance, after all, whether it was discussing life or playing games, you have given me big surprises."

Richard looked at the Clown, eye-to-eye, for a long moment: "So, Mr. Clown, are you ready for another surprise from me?"

"If that’s possible, it would be great."

"Alright then," Richard said with a smile, turning to look at Circus Ringmaster Oliver and spoke out, "You want me to help you find the thief who stole the money, right? Then okay, I’ll tell you directly, the thief is me, I stole your money."

"Huh?!" Oliver was stunned, and the rest, including the Clown, were also taken aback, "You stole it?"

In their voices, there was a hint of disbelief.

"Yes, it was me," Richard nodded, facing Oliver to ask, "How much money did you lose? I’ll compensate you for all of it."

"Hmph, it wasn’t you who stole it, correct? You’re just saying that to lessen the trouble! You want to compensate me, can you afford it? Let me tell you, the money I lost could buy a village... no, a castle... no, a city!"

"Are you sure?!" Richard’s voice rose a little, as he quickly listed data to Oliver, "Based on my interaction with you the night before last, it seems that the amount of money earned from your performances wasn’t very substantial. Basically, I saw no Silver Coins, only Copper Coins, around a hundred or so Copper Coins at most in one evening, equal to a little more than one Silver Coin. Even if we assume the best scenario, that’s at most two Silver Coins a day.

If we calculate a month to be thirty days, without any rest days, that’s just 60 Silver Coins. Out of the Silver Coins earned you would need to buy food, and also provide enough meat for the lions, at least 20 Silver Coins must be spent, leaving just 40 Silver Coins.

That way, even if you didn’t share with the rest of the circus and kept it all for yourself, the monthly earnings are just 40 Silver Coins, which is 480 Silver Coins a year. I do not know your exchange rate for Gold Coins, but it should be around 1:20 to 1:30. That equates to 16 to 24 Gold Coins. Say, how many years have you been the Ringmaster of the Circus?"

"The Circus was established three years ago," the Beast Tamer Tolles, who was feeding meat to the lions, looked over and provided the answer.

"Then it’s very clear, at the very maximum you could have earned 48 to 72 Gold Coins in three years," Richard said, looking towards Oliver, "In reality, it should be much less. I estimate about 15 to 20 Gold Coins."

Oliver: "I..."

"And I have a hundred Gold Coins here," Richard continued, taking a hefty bag from his chest, opening the mouth of the bag and upending it, "clink, clink, clink" as the Gold Coins fell to the ground, making a pleasing sound, like a shower of gold raining down, gleaming irresistibly in the Sun.

Instantly, the breath of everyone in the Circus was caught, their gaze fixed on the Gold Coins scattered on the ground, unable to move away.

Richard looked at Oliver, and stated earnestly, "Weren’t you robbed of your coins? Well, here’s what we’ll do: I’ll compensate you with even more money, that way there’s no need to go after the thief. This way, both your problem and mine are solved at the same time—after all, problems that can be solved with money aren’t really problems, right?"

"This..." Oliver, unable to utter a word as he gazed at the scattered gold coins on the ground, simply kept gulping down saliva, "gulp, gulp."

"Alright, take care of the money; I’m leaving, really in a hurry to get on the road. So... goodbye!" With those words, Richard pulled the reins and quickly moved forward, distancing himself further and further.

"This is all my money; no one can take it from me!" As soon as Richard had left, the Circus Ringmaster immediately pounced onto the scattered gold coins, his entire body quivering with excitement.

The rest of the Circus members stood still, their breathing became rapid, as the limping Coachman Maki and the burly Tain exchanged glances.

The Clown, however, looked in the direction Richard had left, revealing a very odd expression, as if he had swallowed a fly, but soon, he broke into a resigned chuckle: "Alright, alright, this really is a big surprise!"

As the Clown’s voice fell, the burly Tain suddenly erupted, bellowing out loud, pulling out a dagger from who knows where, and thrust it hard towards the Circus Ringmaster Oliver who was picking up gold coins on the ground, "thud," stabbing it into his back.

And the limping Coachman Maki also rushed over, holding a rusty short sword, aiming it at Oliver as well, but at the last moment, the blade veered off, stabbing into the thigh of Tain.

Tain screamed in pain, his eyes bloodshot as he tried to attack the Coachman Maki with the dagger, hissing, "I knew you would do this..."

Coachman Maki limped out of the way, glaring at Tain, breathing heavily: "Don’t blame me, you would have done the same!"

Meanwhile, the Beast Tamer watched the two without a word, discreetly moving towards the lion cage door, while the beautiful woman, Amy, hurriedly hid herself in a corner.

The Clown first sighed, then a flash of realization crossed his eyes, "Hang on, this must’ve been that kid’s real purpose, huh? Interesting... tsk."

...

Elsewhere.

Richard had ridden several miles away and glanced back, noticing no one pursuing him, his eyebrows twitched.

The reason he had paid to resolve the situation was partly because he didn’t want any trouble. On the other hand, he wanted to probe for more information to see how the people of the Circus would react, to determine if the entire Circus was in cahoots with the Clown’s performance, or if the Clown was an outlier.

It now seemed more likely that it was the latter, but he would have to wait and see what would happen in the end.

And this wait lasted until the evening.

...

As evening approached, the sun shifted westward, the western sky ablaze red like flowing magma.

Ahead on the road, a large castle appeared.

The entire castle was pitch black, as though forged from iron, the red glow reflecting off it, almost without any reflection, giving off a sinister and mysterious vibe.

Richard drew closer on horseback, the horse beneath him neighing long and loud, displaying some resistance.

Richard’s gaze became sharp, his eyes fixed on the great doors of Black Castle.