“You went by our house?”

“Yup, but the house was empty, so I stopped by the restaurant and learned that you and Meri were here.”

“Guess I got ahead of ya, my bad!”

“No, no, I just didn’t expect someone to invite Nyx first. Besides, we’re all here now. Well, not all of us… yet.”

“Rose! I’m here!”

As if on cue, a lady wearing a striking velvet dress appeared. At first, neither Jenyx nor Trey recognized her because her usual pink hair had been altered to a golden caramel hue, and the shades hid her eyes from them. But seeing Rose approach her all friendly, there was little room for doubt.

“Sorry I'm late!”

Ria lifted the shades and hung them atop her forehead.

“I don’t mind. I know how long it takes to put that disguise together.”

“Listen to this! We were able to finish the disguise earlier, but then... Father suddenly burst into the room, and we were caught up in his antics again!”

From what he knew about Rose and from all the times they were together, he knew that their chat was going to take a while. In that respect, Rose reminded him of his mother whenever she was with a friend she liked. While he waited for the two, something caught Jenyx’s attention.

(“Is he… staring at me?”)

He looked kind of mad… no, maybe rabid? The person looked at him unflinchingly, like he had a vendetta against him. However, he couldn’t recognize the man. Before long, another person suddenly came by and dragged him away, disappearing into the sea of people gathered among the stalls.

“I’m done, big bro!”

Meri exclaimed, raising her candy sculpture of a star.

“Ah, Rose-sis!”

“Hi, Meri!”

Meri placed her candy sculpture on the table and ran towards Rose.

“Meri.”

“Uh!?”

Meri stopped short of hugging Rose, having remembered what she did earlier.

“Hands.”

Like a good brother, Jenyx got water from the stall and poured them on Meri’s hands slowly. Then, he gave her a small piece of cloth for her to wipe and dry them.

“So particular…”

“It’s so she becomes more mindful in the future. Besides, you wouldn’t want to dirty Rose’s dress, right, Meri?”

“Mhm!”

Jenyx patted his little sister’s head and gave her a light push as she ran up to Rose who lifted her up.

“Oh, she’s so cute, Rose! Who is she?”

“She’s Nyx’s sister. Say hi to Ria, Meri.”

“H-Hello, my name is Meri Troan. I’m 8 years old…”

Meri introduced herself with a nearly inaudible voice. Meanwhile, Ria was just staring at her like something inside her broke.

(“W-What is this insanely cute creature!?!?”)

“Well, hi, Meri! I’m–”

“Gather ‘round, gather ‘round, o all ye brave men and women of Visterga!”

Just as Ria was about to introduce herself, a man who stood atop a stage inside a fenced-off area at the very heart of the carnival and spoke with an incredibly loud voice. His garishly colorful outfit and tophat, in tandem with his voice, caught the attention of the carnival goers, who suspended their activities in favor of the man’s message.

“I have right here, a brilliant piece of crystallized mana essence!”

The tophat man pointed his cane to the side, directing the eyes of the people towards a man carrying a beautiful pillow painted in fuchsia. Resting on the pillow was a glowing crystal, as big as an apple. The item was capable of serving as a great power source and is also capable of replenishing a person’s mana. Despite its size, the item wielded enough power to fuel a small town’s appliances for a month continuously.

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“Generously provided by our esteemed guests for today, Marquis L’eystre Monagon and Baron Yriko Lagist!”

Three people emerged from the tent as he stepped to the side, revealing them to the masses. In front stood a tall man with a medium-build and free flowing shoulder-length hair. To his left stood a youthful man wearing a butler-esque outfit, and to his right, a mustached man who seemed to be yet another noble, judging from his clothes, stood with his chin visibly projected slightly upwards as he looked upon the masses. The men were greeted with fervent cheers and applause from everyone in the surrounding area.

“The Marquis and Baron worked jointly with yours truly in order to ensure that the carnival’s operations would go smoothly. Now, they’ve come to join in on the fun!”

The name Monagon was a famous one in Visterga. A bountiful demesne, a ruler beloved by the people, and a land reputable enough to be favored by merchants from various kingdoms; These were but a few of the accounts Jenyx could recall off the top of his head about the Monagon family of Visterga.

From his appearance and the way he carried himself, he seemed quite dignified, but at the same time approachable. In contrast, the person to his left gave the impression of a strict guardian as he eyed their surroundings. Meanwhile, the person to their right seemed quite amused as his gaze wandered the grounds. Then the Marquis and Baron exchanged glances and nodded to each other. Baron Lagist left the stage and approached the man carrying the crystal. The man knelt on one knee as he presented the item to Baron Lagist, who then gently placed his hand below the pillow, carrying it with him as he returned to Marquis Monagon’s side.

“Hear me, my fellow Vistergans! I am sure that you are all having a wonderful time as you hop from one attraction to another, but… what do you say we liven up this day even further?”

Marquis Monagon snapped his fingers together. At first, the people were puzzled as nothing happened, but suddenly, yelps and screams were heard behind the cluster of onlookers in front of the fence. They hurriedly formed a wide passage at the center as a muzzled beast trodded upon the ground, making its way to the stage. It was a boar. No, it was quite bigger than a boar, and the fur which covered its body was thick and dark. The boar’s eyes were covered with a cloth and it had a leash made of steel attached to its collar, presumably for the sake of safety.

Once it entered the fence, the cloth and leash on the oversized boar was removed by the person who brought it.

!!

As soon as it was freed of its restrictions, the boar charged at its captor with a shrill, ear-piercing squeal.

“Oh no!”

“Look out!”

The onlookers gasped as they looked on at the tamer who was in danger of being mauled by the beast. However, he paid them no heed as he faced the boar with a disinterested gaze. With one hand, the tamer halted the boar, not moving even an inch from the spot. The force from the impact generated a wind strong enough to blow the tamer’s hood onto the base of his neck, revealing a bald man with a sinister scowl on his face. The boar trembled, frozen in place as it realized what it had done.

“Tch.”

The bald man turned its back from the boar and placed the hood back on his head, obscuring him once more as he left.

“That was badass!” Trey, along with the other spectators heaved praise on the man as he hurriedly walked away to a tent.

“He didn’t even budge… damn. Huh, where ya lookin?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t mind me…”

Beside him, Jenyx’s gaze was bent downwards, as if he had found something interesting in the dirt.

“Is there something on the ground?”

“No, no. I just had something in my eye.”

“Oh, alright then.”

(“That person is…!”)

It was one of the hunters he met in the forest, the very person who nearly killed him this morning. Jenyx instinctively hid himself amongst the crowd. It wasn’t like the bald man would spot him unless he was hunting for him, but even so, Jenyx had the urge to avert himself as far from his line of sight as possible.

(“I really should have just slept at home…”)

Although he wanted nothing more than to go home at the moment, he couldn’t leave his sister. He could have Rose watch over her, but then that would make Rose worry for him unnecessarily again. Thankfully, the hunter left just as quickly as he arrived. Nevertheless, Jenyx refused to let him out of his sight until the moment he disappeared inside one of the tents. They could stay, but if Jenyx was recognized by any one of the hunters, it might put them all in danger.

“Sorry, could you watch over Meri for a bit, Rose?”

“Sure. Are you going somewhere?”

“Just to buy a little something. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Jenyx waved before he left for the stall he noticed earlier. Rather than a stall for games like its neighbors, the stall sold masks of varying designs. Manning the stall was a familiar face he hadn’t seen in more than five years. An elderly man with a long, graying unkempt beard enthusiastically called out to the nearby people.

“Masks, masks! Get yer carnival masks while it’s still here! Any design ye want, we can handle it!”

The wandering carnival did not visit Visterga—or any other kingdom for that matter—on a fixed basis. It was a free-spirit, only visiting whenever and wherever it liked, which made it a rare event filled with never-before-seen goods and entertainment. Naturally, because of its potential as a business, many others sought to replicate it and began production of their products. Each kingdom tailored their own versions of the wandering carnival so that the people did not have to wait for an indefinite amount of time for their arrival. Despite this, the wandering carnival still held an allure beyond that of the imitations due to their unique goods and attractions.

The stall didn’t exactly bustle with customers, but there were still a considerable number of them availing the masks with unique designs. It didn’t take long before Jenyx was able to buy a new mask. The mask he used earlier was something his father bought for him from the same stall, but he had outgrown the design and only used it because it was his only available disguise. This time, he chose a design that was more suited to his current lifestyle.