"79!"
As we exited the theater, Ella exclaid confidently.
I whistled softly. It was the highest score we had seen in any performance at Wonderland.
"The Ticket algorithm's recomndations are useful after all."
"Yeah, we've been getting scores in the 70s consistently."
The chuckles from the people around us filled the air.
It seed like they laughed even more the more entertaining the performance was.
"We've already seen four of them! Should we start heading back soon? We should grab dinner too."
Ella shook her head at my suggestion.
"I'm fine, really. Not feeling particularly hungry either."
Seeing her sparkling eyes, it seed like she could stay up all night.
Knowing her personality of pushing herself until she was completely exhausted, I couldn't help but worry.
"Aren't you tired, Elphi? We have rehearsal tomorrow, you know."
"Don't worry. I've saved up energy for that. What about you? You don't seem too disappointed about us parting ways tomorrow?"
She pouted, a hint of disappointnt on her face.
"Of course not. I'm just worried that Elphi might be pushing herself too hard…"
"Oh, are you worried about ?"
Ella leaned in so close it was almost uncomfortable, then crossed her arms.
"Looks like I'm getting a ride from you since you said you're full of energy!"
"Am I worrying too much?"
I teased, leaning back and folding my arms.
"It's inevitable. Carry then."
"Hehe, it seems like I've ridden more on you than walked by myself."
"At this rate, I might transform into a horse with a saddle on my back."
She continued to bombard with questions even on our way to the cafe.
Mostly about life here.
What I usually did, how I t Lumie, what other custors were like.
I recounted so of the absurd stories of side quests, adapted from ga knowledge, to entertain her.
"Hehe, really? It must be fun living here."
"Even if you co, it'll be decades later, you know?"
"Decades? You think it'll take that long…?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing… But hey, what kind of performances did you do in the mortal realm?"
"? Just a jester. Wasn't really famous."
"What was your stage na?"
I almost ntioned the Torch Dancer's na but stopped myself. It seed better to stick to the original plan.
"I forgot."
"Where did you live?"
"I forgot."
"Your family? You don't rember any nas?"
"Nope. Forgot them all."
But the perfect excuse of mory loss felt flimsy as I spoke, avoiding the topic more roughly the more I spoke.
Perhaps she also noticed that I was lying, as she replied with a slightly strained voice.
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."
We arrived at the cafe and went upstairs.
Despite it being late for dinner, there were still many custors.
Most were fairies, and there were a few locals too. We found an empty seat by the window and sat down.
"Hey, check that out."
Ella pointed outside with a smile.
There was a large billboard hanging there. It was advertising Christian's performance.
"Shall we go see that later? Seems perfect for our last performance here, doesn't it? What do you think?"
"Let's do that."
Soon, the drinks and snacks we ordered arrived.
She hadn't been hungry, but as soon as the food was served, she devoured more than half in an instant.
"It's delicious. The food here suits well, too," she said, leaning back in her chair. She gazed out the window for a while, seemingly lost in thought.
Could it be that she's sleepy now that her stomach's full?
Just as I was about to say those words, she spoke up.
"Sir, you know, what if we lived together like this? Would that be okay?"
I was taken aback by the unexpected question and found myself at a loss for words. She looked at with a serious expression.
It wasn't the gaze of soone joking around. She was asking sincerely.
I hesitated, pondering what to say, then cautiously responded.
"You an living together in the afterlife?"
She rested her head on her hand and looked up at the ceiling.
"Just staying here might not be so bad after all. With you and Sister Lumie. The three of us. Performing together, going out together, working together. We saw so decent listings at the auction house on our way out of the courthouse earlier. With the three of us pooling our resources, we might be able to afford the rent."
"…But Elphi, you're alive, aren't you?"
"So should I die then?"
She asked playfully, but her eyes were anything but light-hearted.
I found myself raising my voice without realizing it as I replied.
"What about the Circus Grand Prix?"
"Oh, right. That's a thing. So, should I die in two years then?"
"Elphi!"
I exclaid.
It was sothing I could never have done while wearing the mask of Wonderstein.
I hadn't felt this excited in a long ti.
My mind was a whirlwind of anger and worry as I shouted.
"Why are you suddenly talking like this? Are you burdened by the truth of the circus?"
"It's not that…"
She paused for a mont before speaking again.
"Actually… at the duet concert… you saw it right. I teared up at the end."
Back then? Was that really the case? Maybe I hadn't been mistaken.
She let out a long sigh before continuing.
"I have soone I like, and maybe that person is a Demon."
I inwardly sighed. I wasn't the one she was talking about, was I?
"Just like in the story we perofrd right?"
Ella nodded.
"Yeah. But there are more differences. The blind woman knew the demon was lying but still loved him. Even after she opened her eyes, she still loved the demon. But I'm not sure. The demon I know might seem good on the surface, but the person I like might be a demon beneath the surface."
She sighed deeply, then looked at the table.
"About one week, no, maybe two weeks left. By then, it'll surely be revealed what that person has done. I'm afraid. Afraid to confirm it. And even more afraid. Afraid that I'll co to hate that person."
After saying that much, she glanced at before abruptly bringing up another topic.
"You know, I'm an orphan. The master said he pulled out of my dying mother's womb. He said my mother was an acrobat, and before she died, she said my father was… a clown? Both of them were apparently not famous."
She paused for a mont and glanced at .
"I heard that when you die, your family mbers co to greet you as reapers. So when I ca here, I was expecting that, but it seems like it was all a lie."
I couldn't understand why she suddenly brought up this story, but I felt a strong sense of duty to sohow comfort her.
"But Elphi, you're still alive. So maybe your family couldn't feel your soul's vibration. And the chance of an acrobat without an Inspira arriving here is less than 30%. You might not have any family here at all."
"Is that so?"
Her voice sounded less lancholic now, and I forced a cheerful tone as I nodded.
"In any case, we'll all go there eventually. Even if you live diligently, it's not too late."
"But what if you forget about ?"
I couldn't hide my confusion at her emotionally laden words.
What did I do to make her so obsessed?
As doubt surged, instead of rebutting, I did my best to persuade her.
"Even if I forget my own na, I'll never forget Elphi's na! Even after 30 or 40 years! So co when you're old! I'll be waiting!"
Was my sincerity reaching her?
She wiped away a tear and smiled brightly.
"Really? Promise!"
I swore with her, holding her hand.
A little later, we went to see the play advertised on the billboard.
We sat side by side and enjoyed the performances of the actors.
What we saw was a version close to the original, utilizing all the acrobatics, with so adapted parts here and there. These adaptations mostly appeared in sections designed to elicit responses from the audience.
It was what Ella had referred to as the 'persistent problem of Wonderland performances.' The actors here sought the audience's reactions, often at the expense of the overall cohesion of the play.
Seated in the audience, we played our part. We cheered when we needed to, and booed when appropriate.
As we entered the middle part of the play, "The Most Ordinary Village in the World" ca on.
The actor playing the demon role delivered the concluding lines I had missed beautifully.
I glanced over to the side. Perhaps she was looking at too.
But she was leaning on my shoulder, dozing off.
She had never fallen asleep this early before.
Perhaps encountering the circus earlier today had exhausted her. I decided to leave the theater with her midway through the play.
She woke up when we arrived at the entrance of the ant hill. The sudden shift in gravity seed to wake her.
"Hmm… What? Why back at the lodge?"
"Elphia was sleeping, so I just carried her out."
"You should've woken ."
She grumbled lightly, but thankfully didn't insist on going back.
The waiting room lights were already off, indicating practice was over.
However, music was still echoing in the theater. We couldn't see who it was, but we had a good guess.
It was the low resonance of a bass.
Onstage stood a woman wearing a white mask with horns.
Despite the lively tone of her performance, sothing about her seed lancholic, perhaps due to the evening setting of the Card Sun.
I didn't know if it was because of the mask she wore.
With horns attached, it resembled a devil, but there was a sorrowful expression on the mask.
I couldn't mistake it. It was the Halloween mask I had given her.
The Weeping Woman (La Llorona).
Even to a layman like , Reyna's performance seed amateurish. It was unlike her usual skill. There were frequent mistakes, like missing strings or skipping notes.
We could sense sothing was wrong with her.
But her playing looked so desolate that we didn't dare intervene.
After Reyna finished her performance, Ella approached her.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Only then did Reyna seem to notice our presence, startled, she withdrew her hands from the instrunt.
"Just taking a walk."
"With your instrunt in the middle of the night?"
"The wind blows up here anyway. Sound doesn't carry downward."
"I wasn't criticizing. But why the mask?"
"The mask?"
Reyna raised her hand to the mask, feeling it with her thin, pale fingers.
"Even if I take it off, inside… "
She stopped there and let out a long sigh.
"No. Nothing… I'll take a walk. Don't follow ."
With that, she descended from the stage and left the building.
I was about to follow her but stopped.
If only I had Wonderstein's appearance, or even just the function of the status window.
I watched the door she had left through with worried eyes.
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