I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe - Chapter 544
EP.543 20. Wandering Saint (10)
Soon after, the dining room door opened and Ella, Reina, and Karen entered one after another. Miki greeted them, but they ignored him. Their gait and expressions showed signs of exhaustion.
“Where did Maya-noona go?”
Umon stuck his head out and looked for her. The three of them raised their heads at the same time and glared at him.
“Ma…ya…?”
Umon unknowingly stepped back at the eerie feeling.
“Why, why is that? What happened?”
“Maya is…”
The three of them had just returned from chasing Maya all over the city for hours. She had used various illusions to make fun of them.
Ella had even gotten into a physical fight with the wrong person, mistaking them for Maya. Reina had hit her head on an invisible wall and passed out. Karen had almost fainted when she came face to face with a giant bug.
Of course, Maya’s struggle to escape them was not easy. Just when she thought she had shaken them off, Ella and Karen used Inspira to locate her and quickly followed her.
The reason Maya had run away from her friends like that was because she was ashamed. She had been caught using her master’s illusion to satisfy her unfulfilled desires in reality.
Lately, she had been obsessed with playing ‘butler and master’. Thanks to Wonderstein’s butler act in ‘Count Wolfenstein’, she was able to make Mr. Wellstein play the same role. And that habit had just come out unconsciously.
She couldn’t bear to face her friends head-on. So she went to a place where she could rely on someone. There was only one place that came to her mind right away.
“Maya decided to stay in the Silver Screen for a while.”
“Silver Screen? Why there all of a sudden?”
“I guess she has something to study while helping them.”
Ella finished the conversation with a displeased expression. Honestly, when she thought about what Maya had done to her earlier, she wanted to reveal what she had done to all the members of the group. However, she decided to keep her friend’s secret for the time being.
For one thing, it was too cruel humanly speaking. If she did, her personality would explode with shame and she didn’t know what she would do.
***
The Silver Screen Circus had arrived in Pravin a few weeks ago and had already applied to participate in the competition. They had received the date of the exam and the script from the lottery held last month.
Maya came to the Silver Screen while they were busy practicing. Rumi heard that Maya had come and appeared before her in a robe she wore when she was active outside.
“What do you need?”
“Please let me stay for a few days…”
Maya’s appearance was terrible. Her clothes were covered in dirt or torn in several places as she repeatedly tried to escape from her friends and barely managed to get away.
The bigger problem was her magical power. Not only had the flow become rough due to her reckless use, but it had also gotten out of control and was running wild.
“Boss, are those monster circus kids here again?”
Maya’s magical power fluctuated rapidly at the news that her friends had arrived. Rumi realized what was going on when she saw her reaction.
‘That bastard’s problem.’
Whenever Maya had a problem with magic until now, it was always related to Wonderstein. Rumi decided to meet her friends first and find out what had happened.
However, when they heard that Maya had asked to stay here for a few days, they exchanged glances and turned away. Leaving only a message asking her to take good care of their friend.
‘Why does this feel so familiar…’
When she returned to the room, Maya was restlessly creating and erasing all sorts of illusions. It was like watching herself being rejected by her father. And the sight of her friends leaving her feeling sorry for her was like watching her mother pitying her.
“Did you confess and get rejected?”
“No.”
Maya raised her head in anger at Rumi’s question. It didn’t seem like that from the way she looked.
“What do you have to say to help me?”
“…”
“Do you even realize how pitiful you look right now? You’re on the brink of becoming a complete wreck. This idiot, falling into Simma again!”
“Simma…”
“I told you. For a sorcerer like you, even the slightest emotional turmoil can turn into poison. What’s causing this?”
Despite her repeated prodding, Maya remained tight-lipped. Then, Lumi noticed her gaze shifting towards a corner of the room.
There were her subordinates, pretending to rehearse their lines while eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Hey, you guys being here is making it hard for her to speak!”
“Oh, no, why are you blaming us like that…?”
“That’s right. Honestly, this is all the leader’s fault.”
“What did you say?”
Lumi was taken aback. Seeing her about to get angry, the vice captain Creo quickly stepped in and gently scolded her in a soft voice.
“These guys have a point. How can someone speak freely when they’re so tightly wound up? Think about it. Maya has never even seen the leader who is supposed to be her mom and dad’s friend.”
“T-That’s… I-Is that so?”
His words left Lumi looking puzzled. But somehow, she couldn’t help feeling irritated.
After revealing her true appearance, Maya’s subordinates seemed to be getting too familiar. Even the middle-aged, cold, and intellectual man Arno, who no one dared to question before…
“Anyway, everyone leave! I need to have a private conversation with her!”
Since it was true that Maya found it difficult to speak with them around, they quickly grabbed their script and left the room. Once they were gone, Maya’s expression relaxed a bit.
“If you need something, speak up. Anyway, sitting there with your mouth shut like a princess…”
For a moment, Lumi observed Maya, took a deep breath, and slowly unwrapped the layers of cloth she had been clutching around herself. Maya’s eyes widened as she saw the real form Lumi had been hiding.
“You are…”
Maya wasn’t just surprised by the fact that she was a fairy. Rather, considering her physique and her illusion-making skills, it was strange that she hadn’t thought of fairies sooner.
The reason Maya was truly astonished was that she recognized her as someone she had met in Wonderland. She was one of the two guides who had helped their group in Wonderland.
Recalling that day’s memories, she could naturally recall the person who had always been by her side. Among the 10 people who had prepared for the performance together, there were two people who were not in Wonderland.
“So the person who was next to me at that time was…”
“You caught on. Yes, it was your leader.”
“Oh.”
Unconsciously, Maya created another illusion of Wonderstein. However, this form was different from the ones she had created before. It resembled a giant scarecrow wearing a straw hat.
“This fact is a secret to others. I promised your leader not to reveal it.”
“Why…?”
“I don’t know either. Honestly, it’s strange, isn’t it? Everyone else visited Wonderland in their physical form, but you couldn’t. It means you’re not an ordinary human.”
“Got it.”
Maya nodded. If it was the leader’s secret, the fewer people who knew, the better. It made her feel more special.
Having regained her composure, she carefully examined Lumi once again.
She appeared to be around five years old, with a small stature. She wore a thin sleeveless dress that revealed her arms and legs. And her hair, which appeared in various colors depending on the angle, with two tufts sticking out.
Her appearance, like that of a human child, was an unmistakable fairy. However, she lacked the wings that ordinary fairies had.
Unwinged fairy. A fairy who lost her wings when
“Don’t you think you’re a bit pathetic?”
Lumi tsked, reading the thoughts in Maya’s eyes. To feel triumphant at the sight of a hairless body. If anything, it was more pitiful for herself.
“Th, that’s…!”
“Oh, never mind. Now, let’s hear your circumstances. I think I’ve shed enough light on the matter.”
Maya hesitated for a moment before pouring out everything that had happened today. How he had used Wonderland’s illusion over the past few months.
“Am I strange?”
“So what if you are? You never cared about that sort of thing before.”
Lumi didn’t show much of a reaction after hearing Maya’s secret. Maya had expected her to be surprised, to laugh at her, or to get angry. Instead, she simply smiled faintly. Maya felt reassured by her appearance, but also uneasy.
“Now, tell me honestly. Why does it bother you?”
Maya stared blankly into space. The emotion that was gripping her heart right now.
It was fear.
She had always known that she was different from ordinary people. In the past, she hadn’t cared. It didn’t matter to her what others thought of her.
But after meeting Wonder Stein, she had changed. She had developed a desire to win his heart.
That had instilled a fear in her. The fear of what would happen if he left her.
“Ah.”
At that moment, she realized.
Wally and Wonder Stein.
Why was it that only those two had been able to leave a mark on her heart?
The fear that they might leave her. That was the reason.
Wally had shown it to her through direct death, and Wonder Stein had hinted at it through various clues. That fear had carved a scar on her white canvas.
-She’s strange.
-The way she looked at the dead cat without any expression…
-She has no heart. Her canvas is empty.
She had known the fear that someone might leave her.
Her mother’s death. The experience from her infancy that her absolute memory provided her.
That had locked her heart. That was why she hadn’t been able to paint anything on her canvas until last year.
“Is this genetic too?”
Lumi recalled an old memory as she looked at Maya’s current state. The appearance of a young girl who had crawled into the circus to ask her to teach her illusions.
She too had suffered from similar symptoms as Maya did now. Thanks to Lumi’s help at the time, she had been able to overcome her inner demons and learn the mysteries of the canvas.
It was a fond memory for Lumi, but also a choice that left her with some regrets. After all, the man she had offered as a therapeutic tool had ended up being taken from her.
It was a natural process for illusion magicians. To show someone else the room in their head. If they couldn’t accept that process, they wouldn’t be able to learn the mysteries of the canvas.
Today, Maya stood at a major crossroads. Her most hidden and secret desires had been exposed to those around her.
The shame of having her insides seen and the fear that those around her might leave her.
Those two things were ravaging Maya’s heart.
Perhaps if she had been alone, she would have suffered from her inner demons for a while longer and eventually recovered with time. But Lumi was here. She understood exactly what Maya’s symptoms were and could help her.
“Hey, get up!”
Lumi knew what Maya needed right now. To show her that she wasn’t some strange and distant being.