One-Eyed Monster

”Rewards?” The fiery redhead perked up immediately upon hearing this word, feeling that the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived!

”Yes, rewards. The rewards you’ve been longing for so eagerly,” Brava said, without any emotion, as if he didn’t care about these rewards at all.

”May I ask who the rewards are for?” Kadi asked while scratching his head, also feeling quite puzzled, as if the rewards anticipated by Green-nose and the others came too easily.

”Haha, these are for all of you. Aren’t you happy?” Brava forced a small smile, feeling it was time to offer some congratulations to the folks in front of him.

”Of course we’re happy!” Green-nose and Frown-face jumped up at once; they had been eagerly awaiting this moment.

”You’re really lucky, getting rewarded by the Captain on your first day here!” The fiery redhead looked at Igor, Kadi, and Quinn with a hint of envy and jealousy in his heart...

”Compared to you, we are naturally lucky!” Green-nose and Frown-face answered for Igor and the others, ”You’ve been here for almost a month, hahaha.”

This was a disguised taunt. Although the fiery redhead’s face was covered in paint, it still became visibly less pleasant.

”Don’t be like that, the most important thing about being a Clown is to forget yourself, forget who you used to be, just be a clown!” Quinn quickly tried to console the fiery redhead, noticing that his fists were clenched.

”Exactly, don’t forget you’re still clowns...” Brava shrugged, showing no emotion again.

Igor didn’t say much at this moment. He glanced at Kadi, indicating that they still needed to be vigilant.

The Captain looking for them again was obviously premeditated. They absolutely couldn’t reveal their true intentions now; the story they had made up earlier had to continue.

The rapport between Igor and Kadi was already established, so when Igor glanced at Kadi, Kadi understood what was going on. Naturally, Kadi was better at this than Igor because Kadi had always been in character, whereas Igor often wandered away from his role.

”Alright, the work in your hands is almost done, pass the rest to the hired helpers and go meet the Captain!”

”Got it!” The clowns responded to Brava in unison. To them, this was a long-awaited moment, and they could hardly suppress their inner excitement.

”Remember not to anger the Captain, the beasts around him are not to be trifled with; even a python could cause you a lot of trouble!” Brava kindly reminded the newcomers, as he had some affection for them, being fellow learners in clownery.

But things might be different once they receive the Captain’s rewards. Some might graduate from clownhood to become a magician’s apprentice, or an aerial performer, or maybe a member of a dwarf band... anything was possible once they accepted the Captain’s gift...

Brava stopped thinking about it; the more he thought, the more his head hurt. It wasn’t something he should ponder. His job now was to lead them to the Captain.

In fact, Brava didn’t need to guide them because their reverence for the Captain had already made them eager to meet him.

Without any guidance needed, they reached the tent of the Captain. Igor forever couldn’t understand what force was drawing these people in; was it merely the power that transcended Adventurers and Non-Adventurers? It seemed only by experiencing it could they understand.

Everyone hesitated outside Stanley’s tent, unsure of how to express their inner excitement, uncertain whether to enter or not.

At this moment, Stanley hadn’t changed into the old man’s form. Seeing the clowns hesitating, he couldn’t stand it anymore: ”What are you dilly-dallying for? Come in quickly, one at a time, according to the order you joined our Circus.”

The Captain’s words gave them direction, preventing indecision outside the tent.

The fiery redhead was the earliest to join the Circus, and he walked in unceremoniously, with a face full of smugness.

Igor and the others waited outside, knowing that once the Captain went into the tent, he’d become slow, and who knew how long they’d have to wait.

However, this time, Igor and Kadi didn’t wait long. The fiery redhead soon emerged, clearly excited, as if he had received what he wanted. This display made Green-nose rush in eagerly, showing his high expectations for what he would receive.

Green-nose also came out with a smile, not having spent much time inside, and then it was Frown-face’s turn...

In short, everyone walked into the tent with anticipation and came out satisfied, clearly pleased with the Captain’s gifts.

Igor and Kadi exchanged a glance; they hadn’t decided who should go first and seemed troubled by the Captain’s rule allowing only one in at a time. They didn’t know how to decide...

”Both of you, come in together.” Captain Stanley made the decision for them.

So Igor and Kadi swaggered in together.

Igor found that the Captain had once again become the hunched old man, which confused him. Why did the gifts for the first three people end so quickly? Considering how the Captain in his old man form worked was known to be rather sluggish.

”Tell me your wishes, preferably as straightforward as the previous ones.” The Captain took a sip of water and spoke slowly, as if he had said this many times.

”We, uh...” Igor looked at Kadi, as if consulting with Kadi on how to proceed with their story.

”We used to be Wandering Bards,” Kadi caught onto Igor’s meaning and said calmly.

Igor also began to display an amnesiac demeanor.

The setup couldn’t collapse, Igor reminded himself inwardly.

He now had to portray an amnesiac Wandering Bard, allowing Kadi to describe the story more vividly, and perhaps their story might even uncover some new elements...