Chapter 302 The Circus
Spurred on by the child, the crowd began throwing fruits at the juggler, one after another. Soon, two, three, and then four fruits were tossed simultaneously, all of which the juggler skillfully sliced into halves and quarters. When the crowd ran out of fruit, the knife juggling performance came to an end. There was a brief moment of realization before cheers and applause erupted.
Cecelia joined the crowd's applause, but Aleshia chose to watch one of the other performers instead. She noticed that each performer had a unique act. One puppeteered a doll on strings to dance inside a strange box, another demonstrated the precision of their blade slices, and a third performed tricks of misdirection, placing a gold piece under a cup and switching the cups around. It was up to the audience members to decide whether they guessed correctly or not.
Aleshia noticed a strange similarity among the performances; many of the performers had their own boxes or containers filled with coins. Curious about their purpose, she asked, "What's the deal with all these containers filled with coins? I don't understand."
Kelly heard the question and spoke up to help Aleshia understand. "People here earn a living by showcasing the unique skills they have honed and developed. To survive, they entertain the audience, who in turn reward their efforts by placing money into the performers' containers. As for the containers..." Kelly paused for a moment to think before continuing, "Ah, that's right! The containers represent a claim to property; after all, we can't just let all that coin lie on the ground for just anyone to pick up."
"Oh, I think I understand now. Thank you for the explanation," Aleshia said, turning to look back at the other performers. She continued watching the various performances as the group followed Cecelia to the circus.
Along the way, they watched several acts until they eventually found the circus that Cecelia had suggested. They entered the white and red tent and quietly stepped inside. As they walked past what seemed to be a registration booth, they received masks to wear.
"Oh my, this looks fancy!" Cecelia whispered as she caressed the black mask she received. The edges were adorned with dark blue feathers that faded into a deep, night-colored hue, while the tips of the mask were encrusted with sparkling stones that mimicked the twinkle of stars.
"Where did you find this flyer again?" Kelly asked, looking concerned. "This place looks sketchy, especially with all this anonymity." She examined her mask for entirely different reasons than Cecelia had.
"Let's just find some seats and watch the show. There won't be any problems wearing these, right?" Aleshia asserted, though her voice wasn't very confident.
The group agreed with Aleshia's judgment and quickly located an empty row of seats. As they made their way to the seats, Aleshia discreetly observed the attendees around them. She noticed that everyone wore clean, pristine clothing typical of nobility, unlike the commoners or the slum dwellers like them.