Chapter 835

Chapter 835

“Quidam. Ah, please don’t doubt it. It is indeed my real name. Who in the world would name their child ‘Someone’, you ask? That would be my parents.”

“... Pardon?”

The Ringmaster of the Midnight Circus, who oversaw the entire circus, introduced himself without hesitation, sharing even the backstory of his name.

Ha Leeha was surprised. It wasn’t that the name meant ‘Someone’, but rather the utterly random timing of the introduction. Just moments ago, the Ringmaster had been creating intense tension. Then, suddenly, a self-introduction?

‘What on earth is this?’

The moment he said, “That makes sense”, it was the beginning of everything. There was a battle fought with their lives on the line, and since Ha Leeha had won, there was no need to raise the issue now.

“Heheh, surprise~!”

“... This is quite a surprise indeed.”

Petyr approached Ha Leeha, chuckling. Even most people who joined the Midnight Circus from the Miawoo race struggled to adapt to Quidam’s peculiar manner of speaking. How could an outsider possibly adjust and not be taken aback?

Petyr seemed to thoroughly enjoy this.

“Table. Chair. Tea.”

────, ────, ────!

With each word Quidam uttered, an item appeared before him. Whether someone had quickly placed them or they had suddenly popped out, Ha Leeha couldn’t tell.

‘What is this? Saying it was fast would be an understatement. It’s almost like—’

Magic. But could this be called magic? Suddenly, he wondered if the entire space inside the tent was under Quidam’s control.

‘Quite possibly, since he is the Ringmaster, the highest authority here. But it’s not just because of that...’

A sense of deja vu. Ha Leeha felt he had experienced this kind of atmosphere before.

As he looked around, Quidam gestured to the chair opposite him.

“The fun of the circus begins with surprises. Please, have a seat.”

As Ha Leeha walked towards the chair, he spoke candidly about the atmosphere he was sensing.

“It feels like Peklo City, the place Pyrot-Cocri used to call ‘inside her belly’.”

Quidam, who had been sipping his tea, paused. The black panther’s eyes locked onto Ha Leeha.

‘Don’t lose your composure. I’m here as a client.’

Ha Leeha took the seat opposite Quidam and picked up the teacup. He needed to keep in mind the reason for his visit to this group of assassins.

“I’ve not heard that name in a long time. Pyrot... Cocri... And you’re speaking as if you’ve been to Peklo City—”

“I have.”

He was here to talk to the hero assassin of the Second Human-Demon War.

Pfft—!

Quidam spat his tea all over Ha Leeha.

“Surprise...”

It was apparent from his expression that he hadn’t done it on purpose.

With just these early remarks, Ha Leeha foresaw that things would go smoothly.

“I have a request, Quidam-nim.”

Ha Leeha rummaged through his bag. Filled with curiosity, Petyr stood behind Quidam.

‘Jellypong, wipe my face. This isn’t considered an attack, right? It’s quite hot.’

Before anything else, Ha Leeha wanted to wipe the tea trickling down his cheeks.

* * *

One of the pieces of information requested for investigation by the Holy Grill was about Pyrot-Cocri.

The data that Ju examined included everything from myths about the Demon King’s Fragment to points assumed to be the origins of Pyrot-Cocri, and most importantly, her attack patterns and main areas of activity during the 2nd Human-Demon War.

As soon as Quidam saw the drawing depicting Pyrot-Cocri, he frowned.

During the war, the Demon King’s Fragments would have elicited special feelings from the NPCs involved in those settings.

“I entered the Peklo City. There... I saw Pyrot-Cocri, who was still sealed.”

“Why not just bring everyone there then?”

* * *

Petyr was also a Rank 5 user.

Just hearing the name Pyrot-Cocri, seeing Ha Leeha’s proposal, and witnessing Quidam’s reaction were enough for him to grasp the gravity of the situation.

It wasn’t until Ha Leeha was completely outside of the tent that he sat facing Quidam.

‘A surprise won’t work on the Demon King’s Fragment. As the chief repeatedly said...’

‘It’s something I said to train you guys. You can’t kill the Demon King’s Fragment with your current skills.’

‘Pphit! Then... does that mean you’re accepting this?’

They spoke without making a sound.

Lip-reading was a basic skill for an assassin, and doing it without moving their lips was an essential skill to avoid revealing their intentions to other assassin trainees and members of the Midnight Circus nearby.

In Petyr’s case, it was a ‘skill’, and there was no problem with communication.

However, he was dissatisfied that Quidam wasn’t answering his question.

Petyr’s expression began to change slowly.

The usual insane grin he showed in front of Ha Leeha and other users had completely vanished.

‘I know very well how the chief feels about the Demon King’s Fragments. That’s why you trained me... no, trained me and Nguyen.’

‘I had no other choice. The Demon King’s Fragments can’t be captured with a single life. Nguyen had to be sacrificed.’

〈Legendary Nine Lives of a Cat〉.

A legendary item that could store lives had once triggered a fierce competition between Miyaw assassin Biyemi and Petyr. In the end, only one of them survived to obtain the item.

‘I know, pphit, I know. Thanks to that, nguyen is walking a new path.’

The condition for the loser was character deletion.

The reason Nguyen/Biyemi could exist was because Biyemi’s rapid growth was influenced by accumulated knowledge from the past.

‘I’m glad you know. The Demon King’s Fragment can’t be captured with a single life. Which means... it’s impossible for me alone, Petyr.’

‘Pphit?’

Quidam’s lips curled slightly.

Petyr felt his heartbeat quicken.

He had joined the Midnight Circus for surprises and had seen that expression on the chief’s face several times!

He already predicted what words would come next behind that expression.

‘There will be no audience. The only performers will be you and me. But I firmly believe it will be the most splendid in the world. Will you help raise the curtain on that circus, vice-leader?’

Whhooooosh!

At that moment, a hologram window appeared in front of Petyr’s eyes.

『The Person Responsible for the Circus-1』

Description: “It’s also my personal revenge. I still can’t forget the one I missed right in front of my eyes 20 years ago. Even if I let go of all the other Demon King’s Fragments... Pyrot-Cocri is mine. Because of that thing, I had to carry the burden of becoming the chief when I was just a vice-leader. Will you help me, Petyr?”

The Head of the Midnight Circus, Quidam, seeks revenge for events from 20 years ago. However, he understands that no matter how weak a clone may be, Pyrot-Cocri’s abilities and strength are not ordinary.

What can you do for the Midnight Circus?

Objective: Investigate the previous head of the Midnight Circus within 24 hours

Reward: The Person Responsible for the Circus-2

Condition for Failure: If the time limit is exceeded

Penalty for Failure: 『Radiant Only in the Dark, Ringmaster』 Quest Canceled

Quest Route Restored to Original

Will you accept?

“Pphit, pphat, pphihihitty!”

Petyr couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

It took him only about three seconds to press the accept button.