Chapter 150 - <7>
Late in the morning on the day after the second performance, Ritz slowly dragged himself out of bed. He felt like he was still slightly drunk, but maybe it was just his imagination. Well, he'd been downing cheap booze like water, so it was probably to be expected.
"Work today, then a day off tomorrow, huh…"
He muttered to himself and stretched. His shoulders were incredibly stiff. It was no surprise, given that he'd been turning the merry-go-round by hand, operating the Ferris wheel, and continuously pumping the giant bellows for the massive play structure Marguerite called the Fuwafuwa. The muscles he used were completely different from when he was wielding a sword or riding a horse.
The Marguerite Circus Troupe's engagement was scheduled for three days, followed by a one-day break, and then another three days of performances. The group had been invited to the Fire Clan's village on that day off, which fell in the middle. Though it wasn't exactly a vacation for them, it was still far better than physical labor.
Since the performances began, Ritz had been far busier than Anna or Constanze, constantly working up a sweat with manual labor. The work lasted late into the night, so by the time he got back, everyone was asleep, and only Sara-chan was there to greet him. The sight of himself trying to converse with the speechless Sara-chan while only the sound of everyone else's breathing filled the tent felt somewhat lonely.
It was only now that he felt it was a shame that he wouldn't be paid for all this work, even if it was just to enter Roshozu. If he had signed a contract that paid him a salary, he might have saved a decent amount of travel money this past week.
But thinking about it was pointless. There were countless people who wanted to enter Roshozu but couldn't, so he had to be grateful he could get this far, even if it was for free. Yet, even knowing that, it was human nature to ponder such things.
But well, he did get to see Anna looking so dreamily pretty, cute, and irresistibly alluring, so it wasn't exactly unpaid work. The thought of that unexpected profit made him grin.
If he could just pull her close and kiss her, he could die happy! But he decided to keep that to the realm of fantasy. He didn't have the slightest intention of making her hate him.
What Ritz was looking forward to was the grand feast to be held on the final day. If the performances concluded as planned, there would be a wrap party after the final show.
Apparently, the Fire Clan and the merchants would each bring their own feasts and alcohol for everyone to eat and drink their fill, and everyone—young and old, men and women—would have a wild time. Ritz, who disliked formality, loved that kind of rowdy celebration. The acrobats and the backstage crew were all looking forward to it immensely, and their break times were filled with talk of the last big feast.
And the day after the week-and-a-half-long festival came to a close, they would spend a day dismantling the big top, and then leave Roshozu early the following morning. Naturally, Ritz and his companions would follow suit, and they would part ways with the circus in Motiana.
In other words, their time here in Roshozu was extremely short. And of course, once they left, they would likely never visit this place again. After all, the chances of running into the Marguerite Circus Troupe again were nonexistent.
But the big top, the center of all this revelry, was quiet from morning until nearly noon. Anna, Constanze, and Edward were living their lives as usual, going for walks, but the members of the circus troupe didn't even emerge from their tents, as they drank late into the night after the show.
Of course, Ritz also drank and caroused with them after work, so he couldn't join Anna and the others. Despite having decided to stay by Anna's side and support her after everything that had happened, his long-standing habits wouldn't die easily, and for the past two days, he had been living a life similar to the one he had in the capital before falling for her.
He felt a little guilty about it, but with no time to even talk to Anna alone, it couldn't be helped. He decided to make time for her once their journey of four resumed, and for now, he would just have to enjoy this self-indulgent lifestyle. In fact, Anna also seemed to be having the time of her life with the circus.
Besides, with Constanze around now, Anna probably had more on her mind than just Ritz.
He knew he was the second most important person to Anna after her adoptive father, but he was well aware that it was only as a big brother. In that case, for the justice-driven and motherly Anna, helping the younger Constanze, who had likely been hurt by many things, must be more important than her brother.
Ritz had resolved himself to be content with being nothing more than Anna's big brother for the time being. So he was prepared to accept her words and actions without getting flustered or having expectations. But he was a little worried about the defenseless and cute Anna's behavior.
Lately, he often heard people in the circus troupe calling Anna cute. Especially since she would frequently pop over to see Ritz, her popularity among the backstage crew was high. The circus folk were all good people. But when it came to the cute Anna, it was a different story, and at first, he was worried they might try something.
For now, he could rest a little easier with Marguerite and Edward guarding her. Since Edward was so well-liked as “Grandpa Ed,” the troupe members seemed to think they shouldn't lay a hand on Grandpa Ed's cute grandchildren. In that respect, Edward was meticulous.
If Edward had maintained his usual dignified and noble demeanor, it would likely have bought him the animosity of certain types of people, but as long as he played the part of a harmless, good-natured old man, he could keep the children safe. He must have known that, which was why he hadn't broken character from the start.
In fact, Edward still wore a sword at his hip as usual, but the troupe members saw it as nothing more than a decoration. If a situation arose where he had to draw his sword, they would all be astonished. After all, the good-natured old man was the martial king known as the Hero King.
In contrast to those he didn't have to worry about, the one who concerned him most was Franz.
Franz, who had groaned, "I did something terrible," after hearing Constanze's song, had barely spoken since. Even Ritz hadn't expected him to stay silent for more than a day. He apparently had the bare minimum of conversation with Marguerite, but that was limited to correcting numbers on documents.
He seemed to find it particularly difficult to face Constanze, and it was obvious he was avoiding her.
Constanze was clearly flustered and dejected by Franz's behavior. Even when Anna tried to mediate, she would just hang her head. But on stage, Constanze delivered a wonderful performance. For Constanze, singing might be her one and only form of emotional expression.
The standoff between the siblings, which had been started one-sidedly by Franz, was something Anna had tried to intervene in, but no matter how many times she spoke to him, he would just purse his lips and fall silent, making him completely unapproachable. Ritz, who wasn't there, could only hear about it secondhand from Edward, leaving him to do nothing but scratch his head in frustration.
Because of that, Franz had apparently waited until Anna and Constanze were asleep before returning last night, coming back later than Ritz and going straight to bed without a word. Even now, he was sleeping curled up in his usual small ball, a troubled frown on his face.
Franz was a still sleeper, but he always slept curled up, which looked uncomfortable. Well, it was his business how he slept, so it wasn't his place to say anything.
"What should I do…"
He muttered as he scratched the back of his now-lighter head, having cut off his long-standing complex. Ritz was not the type to listen carefully to someone's problems and lift the weight from their heart. If anything, he was the type to leave them alone and wait for them to solve it themselves. So, as the one technically leading the group, even if they were comrades, the thought of what to do left him completely bewildered.
He'd like to leave this kind of thing to Anna, but he couldn't imagine Franz being able to vent to her. Unlike Ritz, Franz probably wouldn't be able to handle having his words cut off and his ideas rejected by Anna.
If Anna were to say, "I don't think that's right," Franz would likely fall silent. And he wouldn't open his mouth again. He would convince himself that it was useless to talk, after all.
Ritz found it comforting when Anna overturned his way of thinking, thinking, So that's how Anna thinks, but not everyone felt the same way. So when dealing with Franz, there was no choice but to silently let him vent everything.
He knew that leaving things as they were was not good, but with Franz, it was impossible to force it out of him.
He didn't know what would trigger the switch in Franz, but there were times when he would start pouring out an endless stream of words that were either complaints or worries, as if a dam had broken. Ritz just couldn't figure out the timing for that dam to break.
This time, if it did happen, it seemed like it would be a torrent of emotion strong enough to destroy the dam, but since he had acknowledged Franz as a comrade, accepting it was the only help his older self could offer.
It was different from being able to show his vulnerable side to his best friend Edward or his beloved Anna. He was a younger brother figure whom he needed to watch over so they could get along as equals in the future. In that respect, it was similar to how he felt about Shasta, who was also like a younger brother, and his only apprentice, Joe, both far away in the capital.
Ritz used to completely separate his old companions from his new ones. His old companions were, of course, more important, more precious, and carried more weight. But now it was different. They were both his companions, and that hadn't changed. There were no calculations of profit and loss involved, nor were they traveling together for work. Therefore, since they had decided to journey together, his traveling companions were his comrades.
But he was well aware that he couldn't just tell him to spit out what happened just because they were comrades. His thoughts went around in circles, and he sighed.
"I need some water."
He stood up with a groan. His throat was unusually dry. It was no surprise, considering he had sweated so much in the heat, and most of the liquid he'd used to replenish it was alcohol. While spending time with the circus members, he had learned there was a well near their tents, so he headed out of his own tent to go there.
The blinding remnants of the summer sun stabbed at eyes accustomed to the dimness. As his eyes adjusted, the blue sky and the green of the grass reflecting the sunlight came into view.
"Looks like another hot day."
Glancing at the merchants preparing for business with leisurely movements, Ritz passed through the big top and went around to the back. At this time of day, it should have been bustling with the lively and glamorous cheers of the circus performers.
But the scene that met Ritz's eyes was far from usual. The glamorous cheers had been replaced by gloomy voices of pain, and the alluring brightness was gone, replaced by a heavy oppressiveness.
People lay listlessly on luggage and chairs scattered about, and pained groans leaked from the tents. Near the well, Constanze was diligently helping to draw water, which was then carried away by a few circus children with stiff expressions.
The adults were all pale, shivering and curled up.
"This is…"
He walked toward them, at a loss for words, just as Marguerite emerged from one of the tents. Marguerite seemed as energetic as usual, but she couldn't hide the bewildered expression on her face.
"Oh, you're okay?"
"Okay? Did something happen?"
"Yeah. Food poisoning."
"Food poisoning?!"
"That's right. I've got a few people investigating the cause now. I'm in a real bind; all the acrobats and most of the backstage crew got hit."
"…That's…"
He was at a loss for what to say, and Marguerite groaned with a sigh.
"The ones with mild symptoms are one thing. But we've got serious cases among both the acrobats and the crew. They won't die, but they probably won't be able to move today or tomorrow."
"That's terrible."
"Yeah. It is. I've thrown the serious cases together in the medical tent, but it's packed to the gills."
Marguerite shrugged and pointed at the tent. The particularly large one was apparently for medical use. Injuries were a part of circus life, so it was likely well-equipped, but it couldn't possibly accommodate a massive number of food poisoning patients.
That meant the ones sitting outside or lying on luggage were the mild cases who had been kicked out of the medical tent. But even among the mild cases, few seemed able to move. At this rate, the Marguerite Circus Troupe was done for. Today's performance was surely impossible.
As he stood there scratching his head and surveying the disastrous scene, Anna emerged from the medical tent. She called over the children carrying water. It seemed she was busy at work. She was apparently fine, just like Ritz.
"Anna, how is it?"
She turned at his voice, her expression brightening instantly.
"Ritz, you're okay!"
"Of course I'm okay."
Her overjoyed expression was baffling for a normal reunion. But her next words surprised him.
"Oh, thank goodness~ Everyone who drank here after yesterday's show got sick, so I was afraid you were done for too."
"Last night, you say?"
In that case, he should have definitely been there. And there was also… Marguerite.
"What's going on?"
As he scratched his head in confusion, Marguerite, who was standing beside him, also sighed.
"I don't get it either. We drank like fish and ate snacks there, but the only ones who didn't get sick are me and you."
"That's impossible…"
"Right. And that impossible thing is happening."
The usually cheerful Marguerite had a troubled frown on her face. Seen this way, her expression was exactly that of a Flame Warrior. Meticulous, and yet with a hidden fighting spirit burning like a flame. She must have been a magnificent warrior in her active days.
"Chief! I found a full set of leftovers from yesterday's dinner!"
A man, who looked to be somewhere between a boy and a young man, came running back as he said this. "Good work, give it all to me."
As the man excitedly explained that he had been spared because he was a new participant and had missed last night's banquet due to an upset stomach from nerves, Marguerite used a fork to stir each of the dishes. She was probably looking for some kind of poison. If a food poisoning incident of this scale occurred, that would be the first thing to suspect on a battlefield. But this wasn't supposed to be a battlefield.
"Let me see too, please."
Anna, who had come up beside them at some point, peered at what Marguerite was holding.
"If it was a certain ingredient, I might know how to treat it. I'm quite knowledgeable about herbs, you know."
As she said this, Anna stared intently at what Marguerite was holding. Come to think of it, he remembered seeing Anna looking at a book about edible plants on the way from Vishnu to Faldina. Eventually, as if she had found nothing, Marguerite put the fork back down in resignation, and Anna cried out.
"This! It's the stuff tangled on this fork!"
Anna was pointing at the celery that had been mixed into the diced potato salad.
"…? It's just celery."
Marguerite tilted her head in confusion.
"It's wild celery that grows near the swamps of Roshozu. The kitchen staff found it on a walk yesterday and picked it. The Fire Clan eats it normally."
"Normally?"
As Anna's eyes widened, Ritz also spoke up.
"I ate it too, the celery."
"…Really? But this is… Poison Hemlock."
"Poison Hemlock?!"
Marguerite shouted, her voice as large as her frame.
"But the Fire Clan eats it without any problems?"
"Is it really this? This Poison Hemlock grows near my hometown too, so there's no mistaking it."
"Then why am I fine?"
As he muttered this, not understanding what was going on, Anna tilted her head.
"I don't know… Maybe you and Marguerite-san are just especially tough."
Afterward, it was discovered that everyone who had gotten food poisoning had eaten this Poison Hemlock. Those who were fine hadn't touched it. The only ones who ate it and weren't affected were, indeed, Ritz and Marguerite.
"The only things the chief and I have in common are that we're tough and big, I guess?"
"The height's different, but the weight… Hey, that's a rude thing to say to a lady."
"My bad, my bad. But not knowing the reason is a creepy feeling."
He was glad to be fine, but he felt somewhat unsettled. As he said this, Marguerite, who had been closing her eyes and deep in thought, opened them as if she had an idea.
"The Fire Clan does eat this. I'm sure of it. But no one ever gets sick."
"So that means the Fire Clan has a resistance to this poison."
That would explain why Marguerite, a member of the Fire Clan, wasn't affected.
"But I'm not from the Fire Clan."
"That's true. But you and the Fire Clan have one thing in common."
When she said that, Ritz realized it too. The two of them, who had eaten the same thing and not gotten food poisoning, were not humans, but demi-humans. Did that mean this Poison Hemlock was harmless to anyone other than humans? Ritz, who had lived among humans his whole life, had never heard of such a thing.
It was extremely rare for demi-humans and humans to share a meal, and even Ritz had never deepened his interactions with other races until this journey. Perhaps it was common knowledge in places like Luciana, a region where demi-humans and humans lived hand-in-hand?
"So, does that mean it's okay for me to eat it?"
Anna looked at the diced potatoes with a face that said she wanted to try.
"I've never eaten it before, Poison Hemlock. Since everyone ate it, it must have been delicious, right?"
"Don't. In your case, the chances of getting sick are probably fifty-fifty."
"You're right."
For Anna, who still only knew that she was probably about half some kind of demi-human, eating this Poison Hemlock was too much of a gamble. If she got sick and became seriously ill, not only would she suffer, but Ritz would be worried sick.
"Chief!"
A pale-faced man stumbled out of the infirmary tent. Despite being with the circus, his atmosphere was somehow different from that of a performer. He was probably the doctor, but from his expression, it was clear he had a mild case himself.
"What is it?"
"The seriously ill cannot perform today."
"What did you say?"
"The mild cases should recover by evening. But they'll have to skip meals for the day and rest in their tents."
"How many are seriously ill?"
Marguerite asked with a grave face. The doctor fell silent with a sigh, then reluctantly opened his mouth.
"Five acrobats. And seven crew members."
"Five acrobats… How long will it take for them to recover?"
"It will probably take about three days…"
The doctor went on to detail the condition of the seriously ill, name by name. This time it was Marguerite's turn to fall silent. With a difficult expression, she closed her eyes and slowly crossed her log-like arms. Her mind was probably racing, calculating how they could possibly open the curtain for today's performance.
As she stood there in silence, several site managers, their faces pale with worry about the food poisoning and today's performance, appeared. They were all waiting for Marguerite's decision. Eventually, Marguerite slowly opened her eyes.
"We can't cancel the flashy acts. The veteran clowns who have retired from the main stage will return for today only. Put them where we're short. Also, cancel one of the attractions run by the crew. Unfortunately, we'll have to give up on the Fuwafuwa. That should fill the holes, right?"
"That's more than enough, Chief."
"In that case, what we'll be short on is… a few clowns, who were previously handled by the veterans."
Marguerite's eyes looked straight at him. Ritz frowned. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next. As expected, Marguerite slapped Ritz on the shoulder and said with a smile.
"If the Fuwafuwa is canceled, we can move a few people to the merry-go-round. That means we'll have at least one person free. Sorry to ask, but could you take on the role of a clown? With Grandpa Ed. You two are a pair, so it'll work out. And Anna and Constanze. You two, do a clown act together once as well."
"Yes!"
Ritz's eyes widened as Marguerite decided on the roles without his consent.
"No, that's crazy! I'm out."
He knew from the start that he couldn't perform any kind of act, so he tried to back away, but someone right beside him wouldn't let him. His arm was grabbed, and he was forced to stop reluctantly.
"Ritz, let's help them."
He looked down to see Anna's green eyes sparkling brightly.
"You always say it's important to help each other in times of trouble, right, Ritz? Mutual aid, was it?"
"That's true, but you want me to do acrobatics?"
"Uh-huh. You're skillful, Ritz, you'll be fine."
"What's with that completely baseless expectation?"
"Because you're Ritz!"
There was not a shred of doubt in Anna's eyes. In other words, Anna truly believed that Ritz could handle it somehow. As always, Ritz had no way of refusing this, but he tried a token resistance.
"It's not enough for just me to agree, you know? Franz is… well, Franz, and it's not like Ed has agreed to it either."
"Oh, you're right…"
As Anna muttered disappointedly, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Anna. I will accept."
Standing there with a harmless smile was Edward, who had apparently heard the entire conversation. Come to think of it, he had seen Constanze earlier, so there was no way Edward wouldn't be here.
"With Franz, that makes three of us. That should be of some help, wouldn't you say, Chief?"
"Sorry about this, Grandpa Ed. I owe you one!"
Marguerite said exaggeratedly and took Edward's hand. Then she whispered in a low voice.
"My apologies for this, Your Grace."
"Don't mind me. I'm enjoying myself."
Seeing the two of them smile at each other, Ritz understood that his escape route was completely cut off. With Anna in front of him and Edward behind, he had no choice but to nod.
"So, how about it? Will you do it, Ritz?"
Faced with Anna's expectant expression and Edward's amused one, and being addressed so familiarly by Marguerite, Ritz had no choice but to say:
"Alright, I'll do it."
As he answered sullenly, Anna's face lit up, and she hugged him.
"Thank you! I love you, Ritz!"
"Yeah. Thanks."
When Anna said that with a smile, he felt like he would do anything for her. He had no choice but to accept it as his own personal illness.
"Grandpa Ed, what can you do?"
"I'd like to say sword dancing, but let's see, as a clown… perhaps archery?"
"Archery, that's great! We'll have you do that. And what about you?"
"…I… don't really have any skills…"
"Is that so?"
"If I had to say, I'm just agile."
While he was sighing, Marguerite had someone bring something over. When he noticed, a fine wooden box was placed in front of him. Prompted silently to open it, he did, and inside, on a bed of soft cloth, were various clown props.
Juggling balls, a rod, a set of three boxes, a chain he didn't know how to use, and so on.
"Pick what you like and practice. We don't have much time until the show."
"You're kidding…"
Ritz looked down at the tools, not even knowing what they were for, and sighed deeply.
"Ed, what time is it?"
"It's a little before ten now."
"What time does the curtain rise?"
"Around seven p.m."
"So I have about nine hours to practice?"
He thought he could manage with seven hours, but Marguerite cut into their conversation.
"Don't be so naive. The clowns' role is also scene changes, you know? In a two-hour show, the clowns appear ten times. I'll have you handle three of them, so you'll need to learn the routine. We'll rehearse that starting at four, so you have six hours."
"Six hours?!"
"That's right. So try out everything here and pick the one you think you can do best."
"The one I can do best…"
He didn't know what any of them were for, so he couldn't say what he could or couldn't do. Confused, he picked up the one he understood the least. A thin chain-like thing extended from the handle, and a blackened cloth was tied to the end. When he sniffed it, it smelled of lamp oil.
"Chief, what's this?"
He held it up by the handle, and Marguerite answered nonchalantly.
"It's a trick where you light that ball on fire and swing it around. It's the most dangerous, but it's not difficult, and it's a huge hit with the Fire Clan."
"Light the ball on fire…"
The moment he heard that, an idea flashed in his mind. Franz couldn't possibly perform any tricks either, so if he teamed up with Ritz to light the end of this ball, and Ritz performed the trick, they might be able to pull off one clown act.
"Have you ever used a kusarigama?"
Marguerite's sudden question made him tilt his head.
"I've never used one as a weapon, but I've swung one around for fun."
"Then you'll be fine. It's basically the same principle as a kusarigama. With that, you might cut yourself if you're not careful, but with this, you might set yourself on fire. In other words, just don't hit yourself with it."
"I see… That's good."
In the war against the Clan of Darkness, a country he would eventually have to go to, he had fought several times against enemies wielding kusarigama. He had swung around the confiscated weapons under the guise of researching how to counter them. He'd never been injured then, and if the principle was the same, he was confident he could do it right away.
In that case, he could use Edward's archery for another act, and for the last one, with Anna, Constanze, and Franz, they might be able to combine some kind of trick with comedy.
"For now, think of some kind of act that involves Anna, Constanze, and us. I'm not very good at coming up with comedy."
When he honestly told Marguerite that, she slapped her round belly forcefully.
"Leave it to me!"
"And first, teach me this."
When he nonchalantly said this while lifting the chain from before, Marguerite laughed cheerfully.
"Sure. I'll teach you. This comes as a set with fire-breathing, so do your best to breathe fire."
"Huh…?"
"Good, good. We can compete with flashiness!"
"Wait a minute, what's fire-breathing?"
"You breathe fire from your mouth, of course. The Flame Dance is a popular skill even for entertaining troops on the battlefield. If you master it, you'll never go hungry."
"Hey!"
"With a build like that, you'll make for a magnificent fire-breather!"
She said this with satisfaction, and he couldn't help but imagine himself breathing fire. It was certainly an amazing image, but one he absolutely did not want to do.
"Wait, please wait~"
Ritz's pleas were in vain, and the Flame Dance and fire-breathing were forcibly added to the performance schedule for the evening show.