One-Eyed Monster

Stop ordering myself around…

This bizarre theory left everyone in a rather shocked state. They had no idea how this big guy had come up with something so weird.

Igor rubbed his own head. He felt there was something special about what Quinn had just said. Somehow that line carried a kind of irresistible force; as if once it came out of his mouth, no matter how strange or twisted it was, people would still accept it.

Sure enough, not long after the big guy finished talking, Green Nose and Crying Face both broke into smiles, as if the problem that had been troubling them for so long had suddenly been solved.

Green Nose was so happy the paint on his face almost got rubbed off: ”How did I never think of that? We’ve always just been ordered around. When have we ever done anything for ourselves!”

Crying Face was excited too, a look he probably hadn’t worn in a long time. In their eyes, what this big guy Quinn had just said struck a chord with them, making them sigh with emotion.

Igor watched it all quietly. A thought flashed through his mind: Quinn seemed to be slipping into this Clown role a little too quickly…

Even the fiery redhead who had been doubting Quinn a moment ago was now circling around him, as if the guy was born with this ability, a natural knack for pulling people’s attention toward him.

Igor exchanged a glance with Kadi, meaning: stay cautious afterward, don’t let your guard down. Kadi blinked back at Igor to show he understood.

This was a kind of tacit understanding between Kadi and Igor, something they had developed back on Guru Mountain. It hadn’t reached the level he had with Sol, but it was already quite impressive.

Now they followed this group of Clowns to Brava’s tent, waiting for Brava’s arrangements.

After a while Brava walked out of the tent, apparently having just finished touching up the paint on his face.

”You’re all here. Good.” Brava looked over the group and nodded, every bit the leader. He was, after all, the leader of these Clowns.

”So what do we do next!” Kadi wasn’t like the others who held Brava in awe. He didn’t think much of Brava at all. In Kadi’s eyes, anyone who couldn’t even stick to himself was basically trash.

Faced with Kadi’s rude interruption, Brava didn’t get angry. He looked around, then fixed his gaze on Kadi for a long moment: ”Every now and then we get one or two mavericks. These types generally fall into two categories: either the guy’s a genius, or, on the contrary, he’s an idiot. So tell me, you—the one who painted yourself into a single eye—are you the former or the latter?”

”Heh, whether I’m a genius or an idiot isn’t up to me to decide, is it?” Kadi shot the question back at Brava.

Kadi’s tone made the other Clowns feel he was being overbearing, but Brava only laughed instead of getting mad: ”I really didn’t misjudge you. Still just as brash. Keep that up, and you’ll definitely manage to plant your feet firmly in this Circus!”

”Thanks for the compliment.” Kadi shrugged, noncommittal about Brava’s answer. He hadn’t wanted to hear this stuff, but Brava insisted on saying it. The things he actually wanted to know, Brava hadn’t mentioned at all.

Kadi just wanted to know what they were supposed to do next. They couldn’t just stand there staring at each other forever.

”Now I’ll tell you what we’re doing next.” Brava smiled, and the paint on his face trembled along with that smile.

Looking at the other Clowns, Igor could already tell that whatever was coming wasn’t going to be easy…

”Our greatest function as Clowns is to make people laugh. When the Circus starts, we have to use our slapstick tricks to make people laugh, make them feel that everything in the Circus is fun. Through our words and actions we draw them into the Performance Tent.”

Igor’s ears were about to grow calluses. Brava had already repeated this spiel several times. It all boiled down to: before the show starts, get as many people here as possible and make them willingly fork over Gold coins for a ticket…

”You don’t need to worry whether the big tent of the performance hall can hold that many people. That’s not your problem. You just drag as many people inside as you can.”

”Of course, that’s only the first step of our job. There’s a lot more we have to do afterward!”

Seeing Brava speaking so impassionedly, Igor figured this guy must really love the Clown trade. Otherwise he wouldn’t be pouring so much feeling into such a long speech.

Right then the Circus music had already started up. It was played by Douglas’s Dwarfs band—a prelude marking the start of the Circus performance. It was still early though; the crowds hadn’t arrived yet, and for now it was only the Circus members themselves enjoying this beautiful music.

”We Clowns also have to play a linking role. After one act ends, the other elites need time to prep their numbers. That gap has to be filled by us Clowns. So when the time comes, we’ll split into two groups: one group will stay outside to keep drawing people in, and the other will stay inside, ready to jump on stage at any moment.”

”Of course, you don’t have to do anything on stage if you don’t want to. Just standing there getting pelted with eggs still counts as doing your job, because our faces are covered in paint, and any expression we make will catch the audience’s eye!”

”The audience doesn’t care what we perform. What they’re always looking forward to is the act after us. They’ll whistle at us, throw eggs at us, and yell at us to get off the stage. Don’t let any of that get to you, because we’re Clowns, and this is what we do!”

”Of course, our role is crucial. Not every elite act is something the audience can take. The beasts might scare them, the aerialists might shock them, the music might move them to tears. What we have to do is pull them out of those emotions in time, so they don’t dwell on one thing for too long. Otherwise, the next act will seem boring by comparison…”

Clown Brava chattered on at great length, all about the Clown’s role in this Circus. Igor and Kadi listened very carefully, because right now they had to stay on constant alert and couldn’t afford to show the slightest flaw…