She was wearing full-body stockings that accentuated her figure, with only the chest area barely covered by a short vest and shorts that exposed her thighs.
Her long, fiery red hair seed to be ablaze, complented by fierce eyes and sharp jawline.
Judging by her entrance into the school uniform store, she was probably the sa age as Karen.
It was the first ti Karen had seen her.
Approaching cautiously, Karen could tell that she seed to be encountering her for the first ti as well.
Maya tilted her head curiously and asked, "Who are you?"
Her tone was cold and blunt.
However, there was no sense of dismissal or guardedness in her words.
She was rely asking out of curiosity.
Oddly enough, Karen found herself liking Maya's deanor.
She nervously replied, trying to steady her voice, "? I-I'm Karen… And you?"
"Maya."
"Yeah, that's a pretty na… Haha. So, I'm going to be a freshman at Lekachep. Are you too?"
"Yeah."
They exchanged a few more words.
Where they belonged.
What talents they had.
What classes they were planning to take.
As they conversed, Karen felt herself becoming more at ease with Maya.
Maya was unlike any other girl Karen had encountered before.
Karen hadn't always found it difficult to interact with girls her age.
Until she was ten years old, she would often hang out with girls from other circus troupes.
She would act just as she did with the boys, teasing them with playful remarks and behaving confidently.
There was no malice in it.
She just wanted to be friends.
However, her approach was t with caution by the other girls.
They would cast judgntal glances at her and draw boundaries.
Like their male peers, Karen failed to pick up on those subtle social cues and continued to enjoy herself alone.
But one day, while she was in the restroom, she overheard them gossiping about her.
Saying she was weird for sleeping and bathing with boys.
That her words and actions seed lacking in so way.
That she was pretending to be oblivious.
They would often exchange insults and hurtful words with boys as well.
'What are you talking about? I'm not pretending!'
Karen burst in like nothing was wrong, laughing it off.
But it undoubtedly affected her.
After that, she beca nervous whenever she faced other girls.
If they made jokes or pointed sothing out, she felt guilty as if she had committed a serious offense, and she would tense up whenever they whispered among themselves, as if they were gossiping about her behind her back.
Even when girls approached her with kindness, she would break out in a cold sweat and beco flustered.
Now, with her large head, she understood why she was like this and why they acted that way, but it was hard to accept it emotionally.
Her body instinctively froze when she stood in front of other girls.
But she couldn't sense that ordinary girl atmosphere from Maya.
Karen couldn't pick up on the usual social cues that people usually give off.
She appeared too emotionally detached and cold, but Karen found that preferable.
Her trauma switch didn't respond to her.
"So you know almost nothing about acrobatics, huh?" Karen gained a bit of confidence when she realized Maya wasn't a professional acrobat. She finally had sothing to teach her.
"Yeah. I don't know."
When Maya seed to flinch a bit in her voice and tried to pass by her, Karen was taken aback.
"No, no, I'm not looking down on you…"
Karen didn't want to part with her like this.
She gathered her courage and spoke up.
"I, I want to help! I've been trained since I was 4 years old… Would you like so assistance? Like with registering for classes or buying textbooks! You seem unsure…"
Maya, who seed to be lost in thought for a mont at her words, nodded her head.
"Okay."
Karen exclaid, unable to hide her excitent.
"R-really? But don't you have other people in your circus troupe? Can I still join you?"
Thinking about what she said, Maya recalled one person's face.
The Director.
He knew the circus well and understood that if she needed help, he would offer it willingly. He would provide convenience even within the school.
Maya didn't want to accept his help.
She shook her head slightly.
"Yes, but we're not that close."
She rembered what had happened at the café earlier.
Ella had her mouth open, asking to be fed.
'By the Director!'
For a mont, Maya couldn't accept the situation and stared at her blankly.
Even though she clung to the director after losing her mory, demanding such a thing…
She inwardly pleaded to Wonderstein.
Please say sothing, Director. This is not right.
However, what he did was not scold her for her request.
As if he couldn't resist, he nodded once and then lifted the utensil, feeding her.
Like that, once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Every ti he offered food like a mother bird, Ella accepted it like a baby bird, smiling happily.
Neither of them had done anything particularly wrong.
Nor had they behaved inappropriately for the setting.
Anyway, Ella stopped after a few bites, finding it difficult to taste the food and feeling uncomfortable.
But those few scenes lingered in Maya's mind, tornting her.
Her magic moved on its own again.
She wanted to force-feed Ella.
But she couldn't do the sa thing in front of the Director.
No matter how generous he was, she didn't know if he would get angry this ti.
She had to restrain her power and focus her mind to watch the two of them enjoy their al together.
"Oh, it's ti for the uniforms."
"See you tonight, Maya."
They left arm in arm, chatting happily as if they didn't know Maya's feelings.
Maya quietly watched them leave.
There was still no change in her expression.
Her attempt to sort out her feelings about Wonderstein was once again thwarted.
Instead of sorting it out, it beca even more complicated.
Papiflux grew stronger.
The psychic power just now required her to muster considerable ntal strength to suppress it.
Maya sipped the drink the grandma had brought for comfort, deep in thought.
Why did the Director treat Ella so gently?
Why did the Director beco so close to Reyna so quickly?
Is it because of appearance?
Maya looked at her reflection in the shop mirror.
A pale white girl sat there.
Does he not like the way I look?
I've heard people say I'm pretty sotis.
But she knew that the standards of beauty varied from person to person.
She knew she could appear very unattractive in the eyes of the director.
Does the director prefer healthy won?
Ella and Reyna boasted exceptional physical abilities.
They were so outstanding among their peers that they were considered unmatched acrobats.
In contrast, Maya struggled to keep up with the basic physical training of the mbers.
But Lady Vergsong was equally frail.
She was soone who found it difficult even to stand in direct sunlight.
Health couldn't be the reason.
As Maya pondered, she suddenly had a revelation.
The commonality between Ella and Reyna.
What Wonderstein liked.
The answer was so obvious.
Acrobatics!
Why hadn't she thought of that before?
The reason the Director cherished them was surprisingly simple.
Maya had always regarded the director as a revolutionary magician, a mage with such exceptional abilities that even she tried to gain recognition from him.
But was Wonderstein soone who pursued such power?
He possessed such abilities yet focused solely on the circus.
Maya didn't have any intention to criticize him. Wasn't she herself rejecting the suggestions to join IMT and devoting herself to illusionary magic?
The important thing was that she had been ignoring what he valued and liked.
She neglected basic exercises, didn't even think about learning fundantal acrobatics.
It was perhaps natural that the director couldn't see her as a disciple, or that he felt a distance from her.
"What if I learn acrobatics?"
She didn't think she could compete with Ella or Reyna in physical ability.
But she had one ability that surpassed theirs.
She recalled SPECIAL that the admissions officer ntioned during the entrance exam.
There, P stood for Perception.
The ability to perceive movent, calculate distances, and distribute precise force to fingertips.
That was sothing Maya could pride herself on over Ella.
But possessing such an ability didn't automatically make her proficient in acrobatics.
She needed to learn the basics from soone.
She had no intention of seeking help from Ella or the director.
She wanted to learn on her own and surprise them both.
If that happened, the director would see her differently.
Maybe…
Like Reyna…
"Maya, would you like to have a deeper conversation about acrobatics tonight? Please co to my bedroom."
Maya's hand holding the cup trembled.
The image of Reyna undressing in front of the director ca to mind.
If she were in that position…
With only underwear left, the director approaching from behind…
"Maya?"
She snapped back to reality at her grandma's call.
Steam was rising from the cup she held.
She exerted pressure on the drink with her telekinetic powers, turning it into ice in an instant.
Simultaneously, a trendous amount of heat was released, heating up the cup.
"I'm sorry."
She swiftly tidied up the table with her telekinetic powers.
What was she thinking…?
She shook her head.
Right. That was definitely what Cinepecus whispered in her ear.
Making her heart race even more.
She cleared her mind.
Getting caught up in such whispers was the trap that wizards fell into.
One must not confuse the ans with the ends.
Deepening the relationship with the Director was rely a ans of understanding the illusions.
The goal was to fill the canvas of the mind and nurture her magical foundation.
She left the café and headed for the street in front of the school.
It was to prepare for the Lekachep's.
But even when she tried, she realized she knew nothing.
When the Director suggested taking the exam, she dismissed it without interest.
Yet she didn't want to go back to her dorm and ask for help either.
The Director and Assistant Director would step in to help, and she might just end up watching them do it again.
She had co to the clothing store only because Ella had ntioned school uniforms earlier.
But now, soone appeared offering help.
"Let's start with buying the school uniform. We can get the gym clothes here, but you'll have to get the sneakers elsewhere. What shoe size are you?"
Karen.
She spoke with lively enthusiasm, as if her previous hesitation was just an act.
She revealed that she belonged to Papal Circus.
It was a place Maya was familiar with.
They had crossed paths in Luz, and it was also a place that had received one star from Christian's guide.
She was a useful ally.
Maya accepted her proposal for that reason.
But Karen's sudden change in attitude was a bit perplexing.
"Look at this. Are you interested in taming animals? I've wanted to raise animals for a long ti."
She chattered excitedly regardless of Maya's response.
She laughed cheerfully even when receiving short answers or indifferent looks.
It was a sowhat exhausting level of enthusiasm.
But Maya didn't find it annoying or irritating.
She answered questions if they were worth answering, and otherwise just ignored them.
Fortunately, taming animals was a topic Maya had sothing to talk about.
"I've had cats before."
At Maya's words, Karen nodded brightly and then poured out another burst of words about what kind of animal she wanted to raise.
The preliminary matches were about a month and a half away in October.
Maya thought their acquaintance wouldn't last that long.
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