In Lekachep, there was a ti every Wednesday when they invited active acrobats to give lectures.
Mostly, they invited top-notch acrobats who were staying in or around Yeterinpuurk.
There was one factor that divided the top-notch acrobats from the rest.
It was how much money the invited lecturer spent on snacks for the students.
If the lecturer spent all the lecture fees received from the school on snacks for the students, they were considered top-notch; if they saved money, they were considered slightly lower.
The ridiculous evaluation criteria was created by none other than the students themselves.
Their argunt was that if a famous acrobat senior showed a frugal side to their junior peers in the industry, it was evidence that their inco was less impressive compared to other top-notch acrobats.
From the perspective of the invited lecturers, they couldn't help but wonder if such thieves' logic existed, but still, there were no acrobats refusing invitations from Lekachep.
That's because the accompanying benefits were significant.
Just standing on the podium guaranteed coverage in that month's magazine, and making a na for oneself among Lekachep elites would greatly help in future industry activities.
Lectures required preparation from the lecturer, but the response from the audience was also crucial.
The enthusiasm of the students determined the atmosphere of the lecture.
So, the acrobats who stood on the podium spared no expense to impress the students and be rated as top-notch.
In that sense, the guest invited for the first week of the sester went beyond top-notch to be classified as 'special grade' acrobat. This was because he spent several tis the lecture fee on snacks for the students.
The students received a box of expensive snack gift sets, homade non-alcoholic cocktails, and souvenir sets made in the famous workshops of Yeterinpuurk.
Certainly, perhaps due to the Circus Grand Prix period, the aspect of the acrobats invited for the lecture was different from usual.
Unless they were at the level of the head of a circus troupe, they wouldn't even be invited in the first place.
However, ironically, the lecture for the first week was tense.
This was because the invited lecturer for the first week was none other than the head of the Golden Carnival, Simon Maguire.
The relationship between him and Lekachep was never good.
The current students, who were already exclusive to outsiders due to the Circus Grand Prix, attacked him upon his arrival.
Thanks to Ella exposing his petty actions at the draft finishing site last week, he faced a lot of criticism.
Throughout his lecture, students would throw jokes or make remarks related to those incidents.
As a result, Simon Maguire found himself in considerable embarrassnt.
The only fortunate thing was that Clara, known in Lekachep for her logical and articulate speech, didn't step forward. She sat quietly in a corner, using illness as an excuse. If she had stepped forward, Simon Maguire could have faced significant humiliation that day.
And a week had passed since then.
Today was the day of the second lecture.
The invited lecturer was none other than Wonderstein.
Ella had spent the night revising and revising his lecture materials, handing them over to him.
After seeing what she had done, he said, "There's not much difference from what I saw yesterday. Just polished the dialogue a bit?"
Wonderstein accepted the stack of papers she handed him.
With each stroke of writing, each underlined word, her sincerity was felt.
"Thank you for your hard work. I guess I've been taking advantage of you."
"It's nothing. I'm your deputy, after all."
She yawned once and then leaned her head on his chest.
Since that confession that day, such contact with her had beco commonplace.
Wonderstein patted her shoulder and said, "I don't think of you as my deputy."
"…What do you an?"
Her expression stiffened slightly.
He looked at her and chuckled softly.
"You're the real head, and I'm the deputy."
Wonderstein tapped her shoulder with the stack of papers.
Ella chuckled and scratched the back of her head.
"Hehe, it was easy for to make the materials because your ideas were so good. I've always thought, how do you co up with such keen insights?"
"Well, it's experience."
Wonderstein reminisced about his days as a ga broadcaster.
Ella nodded as if understanding.
"Experience? Oh, right. Didn't you ntion once that you've been on Wonder Stage before?"
Wonderstein paused for a mont at her words.
"…Did I ever tell you that?"
"You said you've been in front of 30,000 people before. Isn't that Wonder Stage?"
Her words made him swallow a gulp of saliva.
She interpreted that in a certain way.
Wonder Stage was a clue that could be linked to the Black Magician.
It made him feel uneasy for no reason.
Fortunately, Ella didn't inquire further about it.
Was she afraid it might trigger her own mories, or was she simply not interested in what people nowadays didn't talk about?
Instead, she refocused on today's special lecture.
"Are you sure you don't need my help? I can spare so ti to help you prepare the lesson."
"Ella, you have to attend the previous hour's class."
He chuckled and poked her nose.
"That's nothing serious. Going to school is just a hobby in my spare ti. Where I need to be is here. I'm your partner, aren't I?"
I laughed heartily.
Just her support alone made feel sturdy.
"Yes, please trust your head, my deputy."
He gently stroked her head, since she stayed up all night.
She blushed and avoided his gaze.
"A-Alright. But be prepared for nagging if you stutter or joke too much."
"Sure thing."
The two of them headed downstairs to the dining hall.
Today, the mbers seed busier than usual.
Laborers brought in loads of goods and stacked them neatly in a corner of the dining hall.
Ella tried to suppress her smile upon realizing that they were party supplies.
When they entered the dining hall, Maya was just getting up from her seat.
With an expressionless face, she stood in front of Wonderstein and spoke up.
"I have practical training this afternoon."
"Practical training? Maya, have you taken practical classes?"
He thought she might have only learned circus theory.
Things like illusions or stage directing using lighting.
But he didn't expect her to be learning acrobatics.
Ella was surprised because she also knew that.
"Yes. It's a basic course in dagger handling."
Wonderstein gave her a worried look.
"Daggers? It seems risky for you, Maya…"
He couldn't imagine how she, who was so inactive and slow in movents, would handle a dagger.
He couldn't imagine her throwing and catching anything with agile movents like Ella or Reyna.
"I'm good at it. Co see."
She said with a slightly annoyed voice.
Yurakne smirked as she served the food.
She knew that Maya was practicing acrobatics.
Since their rooms were adjacent, she had seen her go down to the yard with daggers at night.
She could also guess why a child who used to just draw suddenly wanted to learn acrobatics.
Perhaps she wanted recognition from the Director.
"Head, it might be a good idea for you to go see what Maya is doing. You can stay until the afternoon and then co back together. After all, there's a party tonight."
Maya responded with a skeptical voice.
"A party?"
"Yes. It's Ella's birthday today. Didn't you know? I told you the day before yesterday."
Maya lowered her head.
"I forgot."
Ella sighed disappointedly.
How could the smart kid forget sothing like that?
This is a challenge!
"You're out of luck if you're expecting a gift from ."
"Not that I was expecting anything from you in the first place."
Maya retorted with a casual tone at her teasing.
"If you need anything, just say."
"Alright, then. That's settled."
Wonderstein intervened swiftly between their banter, fearing it might escalate into a fight.
"Understood. Let's finish the lecture and then go watch Maya's practice. Now, Ella, let's go eat. Didn't you ntion there's a ceremony today?"
With that, Ella was ushered into the restaurant by Wonderstein's insistence.
Maya quietly climbed the stairs alone.
Finally, she could stand before the Director as an acrobat.
She would showcase her skills impressively.
And she would be officially recognized as the Director's disciple.
Would the canvas of her heart expand a little more?
She prepared to go to school.
As she packed her bag with the help of telekinesis, she thought about Ella.
In fact, she rembered Ella's birthday.
She deliberately ignored it because the first ti she heard about it was when the Director was feeding her.
Today was her 17th birthday.
It was a coincidence, but it was significant.
Maya fiddled with the mory disk in her hand.
Today was the anniversary of her mother's death.
In other words, it was the day 17 years ago when the terrorist attack occurred at Hippodro.
***
There weren't usually ceremonies like today in Lekachep.
But today, everyone gathered early in the morning for a morial service.
As long as Lekachep was nad a circus school, they couldn't just let this day pass by.
Everyone bowed their heads silently in mourning.
Elpara recited the eulogy and glanced at one of the professors.
It was Professor of Taming Pyrene.
Although she closed her eyes and bowed her head quietly, there was not a hint of sadness in her.
The girl who used to search for her ntor was no longer there.
It was often said that sothing inside her had broken after the terror attack 17 years ago.
Other professors occasionally felt flashes of madness within her kindness.
Did her teacher's death make her like that?
Or was it because of other experiences afterward?
Elpara felt sorry that her friend's protégé had beco like that.
Thanks to the morial service, the atmosphere throughout the school cald down a lot from the morning.
So Elpara decided to share so exciting news.
It was about the freshman welco party.
The students imdiately began to buzz with excitent as if they hadn't been gloomy just now.
The freshman welco party was one of the annual events at Lekachep.
Since everyone had been busy adjusting their schedules and school life during the first week, the event was usually held on the second Saturday after the start of the sester.
This scheduling had a positive effect on the freshn because the seniors were usually very kind to them until the welco party.
The freshman welco party was exclusively for freshn.
Except for a few upperclassn who organized the event, other seniors couldn't participate.
The only way for them to attend the party was to be invited as a partner by a freshman.
This year's freshman welco party also treated the trainees as freshn, so they enjoyed the sa benefits.
"Each of you has two cards in the envelope in front of you. One is your admission ticket, and the other is a partner invitation."
Partner invitation.
When they heard that word, the three people standing in front of the freshman thought of the sa person at the sa ti.
AN: War Incoming
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