Chương 119: Chapter 120: A Can of Turkey

Moe and Zephyr were mid-conversation when he pulled their attention with his arrival. Moe rubbed his hands and skipped forward.

"Have you gotten a chance to look at the plays?" The plays… Oh yeah, I still have those lying around in my room somewhere.

"Not quite, unfortunately. Whenever we do expand into that area, I'll be sure to read it first for market research."

"Market research?" Zephyr chimed in, an amused smile on her lips.

"I've heard you've been doing plenty of market research already."

"Your plays are truly remarkable. I wouldn't want to miss Ichoris' greatest."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you're not just going in there to steal our secrets?"

"I wouldn't dare."

"So you're really doing plays?" Moe's eyes brightened.

"It's—""So you plan on stealing Prachar's business?" Zephyr pressed.

"No, of course not, it's ju—""You're not doing plays?" Moe reeled back, as if what the circus was going to do personally offended him.

"Nothing is set in stone yet, we're st—""Stop avoiding the question." Zephyr furrowed her brows.

"Are you, or are you not declaring war on Prachar?" Evel took a deep breath.

"If possible, I'd like to speak to the two of you individually to give you the time you deserve."

"Of course!" Moe boomed. Zephyr shrugged with a smile, "I'll wait outside the room; just call me when you're done." Then she left. Evel finally felt as though he could breathe. He turned to Moe with a polite smile, "Is there a specific reason you wanted to meet me today?" He enthusiastically nodded.

"Great show. The way you made that woman sleep, then made her float around… just wow. My buddy that I came with is from a different city and had his doubts. Oh man, you should have seen his face. Also, the acrobatics were so cool. And juggling on a unicycle? How's that even possible?" He kept going for a few more minutes, and Evel tried to look as interested as he could.

"... the greatest one yet." Evel lightly bowed.

"Your praise means a lot."

"Oh yeah, I didn't come for that, though. I wanted to ask if you've read my plays."

"You already asked me."

"Oh. Right. Ummm, yeah. A few performances ago in the slums, I asked the girl who was ordering everyone around if any positions were open for a comedian role of some kind, and she said she'd get back to me?" Evel blinked. Yuna told him all about it and how she rejected him using the excuse of not planning to hire more staff. The circus had grown since then in terms of personnel, so it was difficult to reuse that excuse.

"We're not looking for comedians right now." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Moe shook his head dismissively, "Trust me. Once you hear my jokes, you'll be on the ground laughing. All my friends love 'em!" Damn, he's persistent.

"It's just n—""I'll even show you," He interrupted.

"One second." He popped out of the room, then returned with Zephyr.

"You're done?" She asked the round-bellied merchant.

"No, but I need both of you here since you've both rejected my offers to work as a free comedian. I'll show you right here and now how good I am." He walked to a nearby table and struggled to mount it. In the end, he stood atop it and looked down on Zephyr and Evel. He cleared his throat.

"Okay, so there's a man." He paused, then cleared his throat again.

"An old woman goes to Acies for medicine. The receptionist asks, 'Why are you here?'. The woman tells her, 'My stomach hurts.' The receptionist asks, 'Well, what did you eat?'" He looked at Evel and Zephyr, then continued.

"The old woman replies: 'A can of turkey!'" Moe burst into explosive laughter. Zephyr had a deep frown on her face, "I don't get it." Evel thought hard for a while, "Neither do I." Moe picked himself off the ground and dusted off his expensive silk clothes.

"Cause she ate the can!" Evel nodded, "Yeah, the can of turkey."

"No," Moe shook his head, a wide smile on his face.

"She ate the actual can!"

"..."

"Like not the meat part but the actual metallic can!"

"..."

"You're not normally supposed to eat the can, hence the stomach ache. That's why she went to get medicine!" A few seconds of silence, finally interrupted by a burst of laughter. Zephyr clutched her stomach as she took a few steps back to keep upright. Moe's eyes gleamed, and he puffed out his chest.

"See? Once you get the joke, it's pretty funny." Evel stared at Moe for a while, then back at Zephyr.

"Ah, you must just not get it." Moe shrugged him off.

"So, can I do it? You won't even have to pay me; I'll be a comedian for free."

"I'll… I'll have to check in with my senior staff if we want to expand in that direction." His eyes jumped to Zephyr, who had just finally stopped laughing.

"The old guys at Prachar were stupid to reject me, but you understand. Right?"

"Why not just use your wealth to start your own thing?"

"Tch, then I have to deal with the other stuff too. I just want to make people laugh!"

"Noble." Zephyr nodded.

"Unfortunately, I'm stuck untangling their mess, so now's really not a great time. We really could have used someone like you, though." Moe gave the two of them a long look.

"I-I have better jokes, but don't wanna reveal them in case you guys steal them." A few seconds of silence. He shook his head with disappointment. Maybe even a little resentment.

"I would like to offer you some free tickets for our next Upper performance for your continued support, if you don't mind." His face instantly lit back up.

"I'll see ya for your slums performance!" He waved as he walked out the door. Evel sighed. Admittedly, he was a bit scared that Moe would grow to despise them for rejecting him, but the extra ticket seemed to do the trick. I might need to keep a closer eye on him… Either way, it was a later problem. Right now, he had a far bigger threat in the room. When he turned to Zephyr, the laughing girl from just a minute ago was gone. She watched Evel with terrifyingly sharp eyes that almost caused him to step back.

Instead, he stepped forward.

"And what do I owe this pleasure to?" He smiled.

"Your performance was quite impressive, especially that 'Suspension Chair' trick."

"Thank you, I'll send my compliments to the Oracle Hand." She narrowed her eyes, then nodded.

"We've yet to hear back from you on our offer."

"Actually, I was planning to come see you about this very topic."

"Oh?"

"I don't believe the terms are good enough."

"30% for the protection of a Reaper is a deal most would be frothing at the mouth at." Evel held her gaze.

"The truth is…" His aura burst out, and a spectral hand floated beside him. Zephyr didn't flinch.

"I've unlocked my Core." He dismissed Eth.

"But you don't seem too surprised."

"Your body is powerful, and you seem quite capable." She shrugged.

"There are very few Weavers who wouldn't be able to guess." Regular citizens who'd unlocked their Core weren't too uncommon. Most tried to find employment that could use their ability; otherwise, they didn't use it much. Without the methods of advancement and training, the knowledge on how to break through, and the enormous resources an organization like a Banner could provide, they usually remained at Core forever.

"I want Risen Vials."

"I see you're not completely clueless."

"No." Zephyr scratched her chin, and he patiently waited. Once, Albert told him of tasks that would convert Riak into Credits and how he wouldn't be able to benefit from them. Then recently, during a particularly boring walk, he'd come up with this solution.

"Lone Walkers on the Path are rare, and the military has strict rules regarding them."

"Is the prohibition of selling Elixirs one of them?"

"No, but the method to become a Weaver, on the other hand..."

"I'll find a solution when that time arrives." She remained silent for a few seconds.

"I have a simpler solution. Why not join Prachar?" She raised her chin.

"This time, I mean you specifically and not the circus." Evel narrowed his eyes. This he wasn't expecting. Zephyr continued, "Very few get direct offers from a Reaper like this, and I'll ensure the conditions are good."

"I'm not interested in staking my life in any sort of trial unnecessary to my growth."

"You know a lot indeed." She smiled.

"But the trials are far from mandatory." Evel narrowed his eyes.

"With enough wealth," she continued.

"Or in your case, connections, you can just join directly."