“Where are we going?” Isaac asked Mark.

“We’re going to the theater that the circus set up to check if the villagers and adventurers were watching the movies. Part of the earnings is for us you know,” Mark replied.

The three walked towards the location where the tent for the theater was constructed. When they arrived there, they saw that circus people were surrounding the tents to make sure that nobody sneaked in without paying. Amazingly, Mark couldn’t hear any sounds and was sure that Hamil used some sort of magic to make sure that the sounds from the movies would not leak outside.

Mark went to the front door and entered the theater. The person assigned at the ticket stand and the guards at the door just nodded to him and the kids. He saw that the film that was showing was still Princess Bride, and the theater was full. He could see from the audience’s reactions that they were fully engaged in watching the movie.

They went outside immediately after a couple of minutes and based on the signboard that stated what the prices were that he saw; the circus would earn a lot from the theater. Mark thought that it would be best that he had a legitimate source of income to avoid issues in the future. He also assigned Melina to manage the coins since he didn’t want to bother and based on her reaction, Melina welcomed the added responsibility. If he were a normal person, he would like a job handling finances as well since there’s a chance, he could skim a little from the top and if Melina did that, he didn’t care either way.

“Mark there’s a lot of people watching! That means we’re earning a lot of coins. Can you buy us our cart with our own Zzourta and fill it with toys?” Isaac asked.

“I could but I won’t. A cart of your own is a huge responsibility and you’re not ready yet. You will need to clean it and you will need to take care of the animal and I don’t think you can do that.”

“You can hire someone to do that for us,” Aaron said absently.

Mark laughed when he heard the twins’ suggestion. They were really beginning to become entitled brats but at the same time, he was glad that the kids were comfortable enough with him to request something outrageous.

When they arrived at their RV, Mark saw that Milena was already starting to cook their dinner, and based on the smell, it would be a delicious repast, so he and the kids went inside the RV to wait. Nedertu was already inside with several cans of beer on the table evidence of him raiding the refrigerator, and when the cat man saw them, he just nodded at them and went back to consuming his beers.

Mark went to the refrigerator and took a can of beer for himself, and the kids joined them by taking cans of soda for themselves.

“Mark, I want to request a leave. My friends and I will go down the dungeon so I can increase my strength. The armor and weapon that you gave me brought me the confidence that I will do well,” Nedertu suddenly said, which startled Mark.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Are you going to be safe down there? Do you have a healer?”

“Sunetta will be our healer. It’s time for her to learn practical experience in adventuring. This is actually part of being a member of the circus. Young people who are old enough will partake in dungeon exploring for them to learn how to defend the circus in case something attacks it. Some young ones find that the life of an adventurer suits them better and they become full-time adventurers. The majority of them do come back to the circus when they get tired of that life and since they were our family first, we welcome them with open arms. The circus knew that a person who had become a mercenary for several years would be able to contribute greatly. I was one.”

“That’s interesting. So, people do leave the circus and they could come back anytime?”

“Yes, as long as they left with the circus’s permission, and they weren’t banished due to bad deeds. Some leave to find a family and some come back with a family they found but some do remain in the village or city where they found their mate. Once I find a mate, I will still stay in the circus. I love it here. This is my life until the day I die.” Nedertu said and Mark noticed that there were more than ten cans of beer in front of Nedertu and more than likely the cat man was a little drunk.

Milena entered with the food, and she requested assistance for the rest that was still in the cart, so Mark helped her. Everyone ate the dinner that Milena prepared, and it was delicious, but the highlight of the night was the drunk Nedertu. The cat man kept switching from being funny to being sentimental and the twins were watching him wide-eyed.

“Mark, what happened to Nedertu? Did someone curse him?” Isaac whispered to him.

“No, he’s just drunk. When you consume a lot of alcohol like beer, wine, or ale you will become drunk, and you will tend to behave like how Nedertu is behaving right now. Of course, you can’t drink alcohol. Kids are not allowed to.”

“When are we allowed to drink alcohol?” Aaron asked curiously.

Mark didn’t know the drinking age in this world, so he asked Milena.

“The marrying age is also the age when a person can drink alcohol. It varies from city to city. Normally it’s sixteen but some cities have a rule that it would be when a young person reaches eighteen years of age,” Milena said.

“You heard her. You will only be allowed to marry or drink when you reach eighteen years of age.” Mark said to the kids.

The twins just kept eating, ignoring what Mark said and he just smiled. They were still at an age where something like marrying was an alien concept.

“How does alcohol taste? They smell bad but they should be delicious if a lot of adults like them,” Isaac asked.

Mark opened a fresh can of beer, poured a little into a couple of glasses, and served them to the twins so they could drink at the same time.

“Go have a taste. Just tasting them is all right but you both will have to drink them at the same time.”

The twins then drank the beer from the glasses and both of them spat them out at the same time immediately.

“They taste like piss!” Isaac shouted.

“Why do adults like drinking piss? Are they made of piss?” Aaron joined his brother.

Mark, Nedertu, and Milena laughed at the twin's reaction. The glare from the twins was so cute that the three adults kept laughing.

“They’re not made from piss. They’re made from fermented grains and fruits,” Mark answered the twins after he got a hold of himself.

“They taste so bad! Why do you drink something like that? Soda is one hundred times much better!” Isaac said.

Mark just shrugged and told the kids that that’s just the way it was.