The Last Gentleman
Chapter 573: 571: Chance Encounter

Leaning back in the silky velvet theater seat, William fully activated his Madness Brain and immediately simulated the current rehearsal effects of the theater. He quickly identified various shortcomings,

This theater was more suited for conventional performances, still some distance away from the true essence of a Fear performance.

Moreover, to maximize social phobia, the seating area and the chairs needed to be redesigned.

Taking out draft paper and a fountain pen, he noted down the deficiencies,

Once he started writing, he couldn’t stop, and soon a pile of design drafts beside William amounted to a sketchbook.

"That’s enough for today, I can’t break the promise I made with the Natalie sisters, it’s related to the subsequent construction and development of the theater. Even while I’m on leave, the acrobatics troupe can help to look after it.

It’s best to take the drafts to the sisters first and have them arrange for someone to handle it."

William decisively stood up and headed for the kitchen, using his gold card to obtain the right to use the kitchen,

In his quest to perfectly recreate Red Oil Dumplings and to see if his cooking skills had rusted, he requested a piece of "the boss’s scalp meat" from the head chef.

Glancing at his watch, William promptly carried the thermal pot back to the circus.

Who would have known that on his way back, legs clad in black and white alternating stockings stepped over William’s shoulders,

"William, you’re back and not coming to see me first? If I hadn’t gone to borrow something from Uncle Jian today, I would have had no idea you were already in the circus,"

"Catherine, you’ve grown quite a bit."

Through physical contact, William could feel the near-qualitative improvement in Catherine’s nightmare essence,

"My potential is very high, okay? Otherwise, how would I have become the Assistant Clown before even completing the path? And don’t change the subject, answer my question from before."

"Although the boss is no longer pursuing the issue of my late return, he has asked me to complete the preliminary construction of the theater in a short time. I’m currently liaising with the acrobatics troupe; I really can’t handle everything,"

"I see~ then I’ll just barely believe you. If you need manpower, I can also have my subordinates come over and help, they would be happy to help you."

Swish~ Catherine directly tore a piece of her scalp away to reveal a woman’s face crammed beneath the scalp.

"Not necessary for now, the assistance from the acrobatics troupe is sufficient, and it would be difficult for your people to reach the center of the circus anyway, wouldn’t it?"

Catherine’s eyes widened, "Your temporary theater is arranged at the center of the circus?"

"Yes, it was originally reserved for the fourth chief, and now it’s temporarily given to me as the construction site for the theater."

"It seems Mr. Rabbit really likes you... By the way, what are you carrying there? Even though it’s well covered, I can still smell the aroma—wait! Is it the Red Oil Dumplings you showcased at the Demon Banquet last time?"

As she spoke, Catherine prepared to twist open the pot lid.

Slap! The result, of course, was William slapping her hand away,

"If you want some, I’ll make it for you next time... This batch is for the Natalie sisters."

At this, Catherine immediately became anxious, "Ah? What do you need to give those old witches for!"

"Mr. Rabbit is out on business, and they are currently in charge of the circus and are very supportive of my work. How about this, Catherine, you help me build a theater, and I’ll make a batch for you too?"

"Cough cough~ When I become the Chief Clown, such a task will be simple, won’t it? I’m still young, okay, there are some things I naturally can’t compare with those old witch sisters.

I don’t care, I don’t care! Let me have one, just one is enough!"

Catherine desperately tried to grasp the lid of the pot, but no matter how she changed her movements, or even tried to hook off the lid with her toes, William blocked her.

"Once you open the lid, the whole pot of dumplings will be ruined. How about I make you some after tonight, tomorrow?"

"No, I can’t wait! I must have dumplings tonight."

As an Assistant Clown, Catherine’s obstinate behavior was fully displayed,

Even showing a nightmare posture that alternated between solid and ethereal, with various tentacles spilling out from her body and even an illusion akin to a Demon King latching behind her, all fighting fiercely for the thermal pot.

William glanced at his watch; there was completely no time left.

As all sorts of nightmare substances assailed the pot lid, William suddenly released his right hand that was holding the bottom of the pot, allowing the thermal pot to fall on its own.

Caught off guard by Catherine’s momentary stupor,

William suddenly grasped her arm, executing a perfect over-the-shoulder throw... smack! Catherine’s body was heavily slammed onto the ground three meters away, with gravel scattering.

As he threw her, William quickly squatted down, steadying the thermal pot that had yet to touch the ground.

This kind of shoulder throw was purely a display of raw power and skill, not using any additional abilities,

It wouldn’t cause any real harm to Catherine, but it had left her body in tatters, her spine snapped in two.

Crack-crack~ under the influence of nightmare material, it rapidly reconnected and healed.

William felt a bit excessive, part of the reason being he had not fully adapted to his new body after the promotion, not realizing the force would be so great.

Just as William was about to apologize,

a drop of dark, murky tear slid down Catherine’s cheek, and she sat sprawled on the ground crying, her sobs were soft yet audible to William.

Grievances, pain, and sadness were all captured within the sound of her crying,

The sight of the girl’s tears faintly stirred some unpleasant memories in William, who quickly shook his head to suppress the recollections and focused on the situation at hand.

"That... I really didn’t mean to... Catherine, how about you join me at the Soft Hall? We could say we met on the way, the Natalie sisters would probably welcome both of us.

I also made plenty of dumplings; you can have my share."

At these words, the crying abruptly stopped.

"Yes, yes~ you said all your dumplings are for me! Yay!"

Seeing Catherine instantly stop crying and raising her right arm in enthusiasm, William felt quite helpless, not expecting to be fooled by the acting of someone who was the Chief Actor.

"Hey! What’s with that look? I’m not really acting, I was genuinely sad just now, okay? Using real emotions as a basis to amplify the performance, isn’t that the essence of acting? Hehe.

So, what do you think, if you find a new Assistant Clown willing to replace me, how about I become your second in command?"

"That won’t be necessary, I already have someone in mind for my assistant."

"Ah? You’ve found someone that fast... Anyway, let’s hurry up! I can’t wait to start eating."

[Soft Hall]

As the department with the most employees in the entire circus, the Soft Hall also occupied the largest area, even larger than Mr. Rabbit and Mozander, the two chiefs, combined together.

It resembled an art school with student dormitories, a playground, and a vast teaching building (Soft Hall).

As the two walked across the playground toward the Soft Hall, they felt at least tens of thousands of gazes from the surrounding dormitories, each crammed with hundreds of individuals.

With William knocking on the door of the Soft Hall, the Natalie sisters dressed in bodysuits opened the door using an extra pair of legs.

The smile on their faces vanished upon seeing Catherine.

"What are you doing here? I don’t need a clown to set the mood in this place."

"We’re all assistants; isn’t it normal to drop by each other’s places? Besides, it was William who asked me to come."

"William..."

When Natalie raised her eyes to look, she saw a sense of helplessness in William’s eyes.

"Let Catherine join us for the meal. She helped me a lot before I became the Chief Actor. We just happened to meet on the way and came here together. I made enough dumplings, there should be plenty for the two of you."

"Hmm..." Natalie remembered the first time she met William during the trial run period; it was Catherine who had helped cheat by distributing Nightmare Cookies to the audience, "Alright~ Catherine, you better behave, don’t mess things up like Art did."

"Don’t worry, I’m very well-mannered."

The two women couldn’t see eye to eye, always feeling like they might start fighting at any moment.

However, with William placing the thermal pot on the table and lifting the lid to reveal the well-stewed dumplings, the tension instantly dissolved.