Chương 121: Chapter 122: Inspection

Yuna nervously paced inside a closed area within the Ichoris Legerdemain's slums tent. Today was the day that Prachar would send an employee to assess how the circus was operating. To assess how she, as the manager, was handling everything. She thought things ran relatively smoothly, and she'd improved a lot since she first got the job. Apparently, her boss disagreed.

Although he told her it was just part of the negotiations and that it would be a quick way to find flaws with how their systems worked, she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. A random upper, one who knew nothing about the circus or the people there, one who wouldn't even spend the full day there, was supposed to come into their tent and tell her how to do her job better? She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. Since she'd begun working here, this felt like the biggest test yet.

Even the actual performances were mostly out of her hands once they began, but everything this random upper would find was a direct failure on her part. She shook her head. She'd been doing a good job, and would continue to do so. Although Eth was strange and someone she struggled to understand on a personal level, at least she understood he valued her greatly. Even in the past few months when he was acting erratically, she was one of the people he treated with great care.

But the kind words she told herself didn't stop the anxiety she felt in her stomach. Dory, one of the security workers, popped his head through the curtains into her personal area.

"He's here." Yuna took a long breath and fiercely nodded. Even if he found issues, she'd take the criticism with class and use it as a springboard to improve herself. She was far better than two weeks ago and significantly better than months ago. She couldn't fail the place she owed so much to. Pushing aside the curtain, her eyes immediately got drawn to the man. An older man with droopy eyes, mid-conversation with Joanna, holding a clipboard.

Between his luxurious silk clothes and the glass wheel badge on his chest, he immediately stood out. Upon seeing her, the man politely excused himself and walked over. His steps were slow, but not the kind you'd see in the elderly. Instead, it was like he already owned the place and felt comfortable within it as if it were his own home. A true soldier of Prachar, one of the most powerful Banners in the entire Imperium. She swallowed quietly as he approached with a smile.

"So you must be Yuna." He extended his arm.

"I'm Otis." She'd learned it was a common practice among the uppers to shake hands before doing business. She also learned that it was done by two parties on equal footing. I'm overthinking this. She extended her arm to meet him in the middle, keeping it as steady as she could manage.

"Nice having you."

"No need to be nervous." He placed his other arm on top of hers, trapping her and pulling her closer.

"Just think of me as a guest who demanded a tour." She wasn't one to give in so easily.

"Of course." She brought her arm and placed it on top of his, counter-attacking his two-hand maneuver with grace.

"Do you know anything about the business at all, or would you like me to explain it from scratch?" He raised his eyebrow and lightly shook his head.

"Just pretend I'm one of those stupid VIP families you always have to deal with." He pulled his hands back. She'd won the first confrontation. With a satisfied nod, she focused on her actual duties.

"We have two locations: this tent here in the slums, and the building you've probably seen on the eastern side of Upper-Ichoris."

"Is there a reason you're choosing to practice here instead of your bigger location?" He challenged.

"It sometimes gets a little cramped, but we've expanded the tents a lot since we first started, so it's enough. All of our workers are from the slums, so this area is more convenient."

"Reducing friction, I see." Then he jotted something down on his clipboard. She tried to peek over to see what he was writing, but quickly averted her gaze when he looked back up at her. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Whatever 'reducing friction' meant, it didn't sound like too bad of a thing. But would he write down something if it was good? She shook her head and continued with the tour, walking over to Toan.

He was alone at a table used generally by guests during their performances. His full focus was on the needle in his hands, stitching together a flamboyant clown's costume. On the table beside him were four other identical costumes.

"This is Toan. He's the head of the art department." Upon hearing his name, his concentration broke, and he looked up with a bright smile.

"Oh, hey Yuna! Who's this oldie?" Suppressing a smile, she shook her head.

"Don't be so disrespectful," she scolded. Internally, she praised him greatly.

"He's here to improve the circus."

"Ohhh," Toan nodded.

"He does look very… experienced." The old man Otis only smiled.

"Good to meet you, Toan. Are you the only member of the arts department?" Yuna tightened her fist. He was challenging Toan, and all she could do was hope he answered correctly.

"My department is quite efficient, you see," he raised his chin.

"They finished all their tasks for the day and are heading home. I'm just here to finish up the touch-ups." Yuna almost pumped her fists at his answer. The baldie was a moron, but every once in a while he'd have a stroke of genius. Otis nodded and jotted something down. Yuna shifted in place. It was probably positive, but she couldn't help but feel nervous whenever she heard the scribbling of pen on paper.

She refocused and continued the tour, leading him to an open area where a few people were practicing their juggling. One person was on a unicycle, and another was doing both at once. He was absolutely killing it, and at the perfect time at that. Just a few meters away was a tall ladder leading to a platform, and soft mats beneath it. Clara was by the mats, leading a few of the aspiring acrobats through some stretches. This hadn't been an area Eth planned to expand on, but Clara had a talent that couldn't be denied.

Combined with how hard she worked and her eagerness to help others reach her level, she'd practically invented the whole acrobats section of the circus alone. Now there were tons of people who could do her job with grace.

"This whole area, we leave for acrobatics."

"Who's the head?" Yuna frowned. Maybe this Prachar inspector wasn't as smart as she thought. Obviously, the person leading the stretchers was the head. Who else would it be? She pointed out Clara.

"I see, mind if we spend a few minutes observing?"

"Sure." Between Toan's stupidity and Mateo's aloofness, Clara was the perfect person to watch carefully. The young girl was perfect! I wouldn't have minded having her as a little sister. She shrugged off a few workers who were asking her for help while she waited for Otis to be satisfied with the observation. She'd get to them later. The ancient being's bones were probably too tired from walking around so much and needed to remain still for a while.

"Alright, let's move on." So far, things were going quite smoothly. Next was an open area where a big group of people were mid-conversation, joking around as they usually did. Upon noticing Yuna, their faces brightened, and they waved. She motioned for them to carry on and explained the area to Otis.

"This area is dedicated to resting. Whenever a member is stuck on a trick, needs a change in perspective, or just needs a break, this area is where to be. At least, that's what it's supposed to be. Usually it's just a hang out area for those who finished all their work, or where people come on their days off."

"Do you use the area?"

"Me? No, I usually don't have time, but I can see the positive impacts it has on others."

"Interesting." Jot, jot, jot. He probably was writing something bad about the rest area, but she'd seen what it did for others. She just hoped Eth would listen to her over this random upper on what's right. Next up on the tour was Mateo, who was explaining a trick to a few others. Metamorphosis, one of her favourites. The moment they made eye contact, Mateo stopped. They'd already planned this earlier. The magicians were the core appeal of their circus.

Prachar could copy the acrobats; they could copy the costumes; they could copy whatever else they came up with, but not magicians. Before Otis came in, the four senior members were all in agreement that no matter what, they couldn't let Prachar get their filthy hands on their magic.

"This is Mateo, our head of staff." Otis tilted his head, "Aren't you the head of staff?" The role was one Eth gave near the beginning when they still had single-digit workers. It wasn't too crazy. If something happened to Eth, then Mateo would be next up to cover for him as The Oracle Hand. But she didn't need to explain all that to him.

"No."

"I see," he said, facing Mateo with a smile.

"Good to make your acquaintance."

"Same to you!" The two stared at each other for a while before Otis was ready to leave. Eth's secrets were safe with them! The next part of the tour was one she expected some pushback on, but since they were still experimenting with it, she didn't mind too much. Thalia, who led the 'beast tamer' section. Sonny, who led the 'equilibrium' section. The only 'beast' they had was a few turtles they'd bought, so they were focusing on training them up.

Eth had said this was a big part of the circus, but hadn't given them much to work off, so she figured they'd start small. Recently, he's been less snappy and more involved with the circus and practically laughed at the turtles. It was a rocky start, but they'd bounce back in no time! She just needed to figure out where to get these bigger animals he talked about. Her eyes fell on Thalia, who was playing on the floor with the tortoise and scratching its neck.

They also needed to figure out how to control the massive animals. If Clara were here, she'd joke about how Thalia would get brutally eaten alive… Jot, jot, jot. The old bastard pulled her straight out of her fond thoughts with his stupid writing, grating on the paper. At least the equilibrium section was progressing a bit more smoothly. He could make his way across the rope about forty percent of the time, and the one person under him, about ten percent. Jot, jot, jot.

Otis scratched his chin as he flipped through his own notes.

"That's everything?"

"Everyone who's here today. Some groups, like the vocalists, have Monday off." She didn't bother giving him a tour of the security. Those were secrets best kept close.

"You have staggered days off?"

"Yes, I've found it a lot more efficient that way, and we can share the space easier as well." Otis hummed.

"A clever solution to your limited space. Just one last thing, mind if I watch you for a while?" Yuna raised an eyebrow.

"Watch you work, I mean." He clarified.

"You can pretend I'm not even there."

"But you would be there."

"Yes." She remained silent for a few seconds.

"Fine."