After the circus performance ended, the guests left the seating area one after another.
Tang sat in his place for a while before getting up, brushing past a black-robed figure in the adjacent seat.
"Audience, huh."
It seemed that most of the acting methods for the 'Fool' pathway had some connection to 'the audience's cheers and recognition'.
Tang considered this matter, his gaze falling on his surroundings. The pointed tent, looking poorly managed and already showing signs of decay, didn't notice the black-robed figure behind him slightly turning its head, casting a glance in his direction.
Tang shook his head and left.
...
Having been busy for almost a day, Humphrey Duke, the circus ringmaster, counted the day's earnings, only able to sigh silently.
"It's getting worse day by day. I wonder how much longer this circus can last."
He thought melancholically.
As the circus's most important source of income, the ticket prices for customers, even though he had set them quite low, in these times of widespread hunger, not many poor people were willing to pay even a few pennies for a ticket.
And staying in the same place for a long time would inevitably lead to a continuous decrease in daily attendance.
Customers were always picky. The circus only had so many acts, and even the most enthusiastic guests would eventually get tired of watching.
But moving to another place... honestly, Humphrey Duke, who knew some of the darker aspects of this world, felt it was inappropriate. Moreover, he didn't have enough money to support a long journey away from Tingen to other regions.
The current venue had half a month left on the lease, and if he couldn't find a way to turn things around during this time, the only consequence for the circus would be disbandment.
But if they disbanded, what would happen to the children?
"Ringmaster."
The chubby little girl peeked out from behind the backstage curtain, smiling sweetly. Humphrey Duke was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and patted her head, simultaneously pulling out a not-so-sweet piece of candy from his pocket as if by magic and handing it to her.
"Thank you, Ringmaster!" The little girl excitedly took the candy, but didn't eat it, saying instead, "Ringmaster, there's a guest who said they wanted to chat with you."
"A guest?" Humphrey Duke frowned in confusion. "Please show them in."
He stood up, preparing to see who it was.
The person who came was a man of medium height wearing a black hood. No one knew what the guest and the ringmaster discussed. They only saw the ringmaster emerge from the tent with an expression of indescribable excitement on his face, holding a black box in his hands.
...
Tang returned to Viscount Beaker's residence, found Baroness Boyanka, and left with her.
Afterwards, the mother and son went to the newly opened commercial street. The commercial street was quite ordinary, without the stench of corpses or the vagrants begging everywhere. They bought many things and planned to return to their territory from Tingen City before dark.
Neither Tang nor Baroness Boyanka had any intention of staying overnight outside.
Having traveled all day and being weary from the journey, Baroness Boyanka was also somewhat tired. The carriage was silent along the way. Tang unwrapped some of the things he had bought on the road and put a piece of candy with some black mixed in into his mouth.
He chewed the piece of candy, which was supposedly 'the sweetest candy in Tingen City', with a blank expression, cursing inwardly. He had been deceived.
Despite this, he still crunched the candy with his good teeth.
Baroness Boyanka looked at her youngest son with confusion. Tang immediately handed the candy in his hand to his mother.
Baroness Boyanka was puzzled, then smiled and accepted the treat from her youngest son.
"It seems the schedule for refining sugar does indeed need to be moved up a bit."
Nothing dangerous happened during this time, and the carriage returned to the castle safely.
Perhaps the demons' danger perception had saved them, as they showed no intention of rushing up to their deaths. Tang expressed his disappointment at this.
System: 'Not enough marionettes?'
"I can only control one marionette right now. If there were more, I wouldn't be able to handle them."
So even if they came, he could only kill them, extract the extraordinary characteristics, and see what magical items the system's 'Craftsman' could make.
'Then you could consider the Mystic/Alchemist pathway. That way, you'd never have to worry about the number of marionettes...'
Tang: "...Can you become a marionette?"
System: 'Nope~ Nope nope nope~'
Tang: "Ugh—"
Returning to the castle built entirely of dark cyan stone bricks, Tang went back to his room, preparing to rest.
"I think I should make some things in advance. What do you think, system?"
He probably wouldn't leave here for a while. Many things he hadn't considered before could now be properly thought about during the digestion of the potion.
It seemed now that he couldn't rely on Emperor Roselle to do everything. That would take many years, and he felt he couldn't wait.
For example, something like toilet paper...
"Also, the Occultist potion needs to start being prepared."
Whether it was finding other extraordinary characteristics left by Occultists or concocting the potion himself, both would take time.
Moreover, the Occultist's ritual involved a demigod-level extraordinary being, which would also consume a significant amount of time.
Once he stepped into this level, his life level would also undergo a transformation, becoming a being half-god and half-human.
'Related knowledge has been prepared, host. If needed, the Universalist will be of greater help to you.'
"You're talking about the God of Craftsmen? That is indeed a path."
Cooperating with the Church of the God of Craftsmen wasn't out of the question, Tang thought, even though it would somewhat steal Emperor Roselle's thunder.
But he had always been avoiding these orthodox churches. Antigonus was currently being frantically hunted by the forces of the Church of the Night. As a Sequence Five of the 'Fool' pathway, he might also be implicated if discovered.
Moreover, there were two copies of the Sequence One potion with Antigonus, and the Uniqueness was also there.
The other copy of the potion had not yet been released by the great existence above the spirit world.
"No need to worry about Sequence One for now. After all, I'm not even really a demigod yet."
He took a bath, put the iron chain back into the system space, and was about to crawl onto the bed and writhe around like a maggot in the shadows, letting his true nature go, when the door was knocked.
His personal maid said softly, "Young Master Eggers, Young Master Owen is looking for you."
At this hour?
Tang: "...Can I curse him?"
'Family is a warm harbor. Fatherly love, motherly kindness, and fraternal harmony are necessary to maintain family peace.'
The system's affected electronic voice rang out.
Well, well, well, the negative effect of the magical item. He had forgotten about that.
(End of this chapter)