Chương 129: Chapter 130: Wise Sage

Wearing some light makeup, sunglasses, and a cap, Evel crept around the circus. He blended into the background and had been wearing the stupid disguise for hours, but Moe apparently didn't want to show up. As he neared his limit, he finally saw the merchant approach from a distance. Finally. Toan jumped off the rock and approached Moe — the man who was possibly a part of the largest terrorist organization in the kingdom.

"You're finally here, young'un!" Moe bent down and clutched his knees, panting heavily.

"S-sorry," he stuttered.

"B-but I'm ready to start!" Toan looked him up and down before scowling.

"How disrespectful, to show up this late..." Evel's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. Toan, what are you doing? He'd told them to treat him like any other worker, but a little delicacy wouldn't hurt. Moe was a well-known merchant of a massive business — of course he had some responsibilities to take care of before coming to the circus. They couldn't expect him to drop everything and show up at a moment's notice, not to mention Evel had never even specified a time for him to show up!

"I meant to come earlier," Moe panted.

"But I slept in."

"..." Toan scratched his chin.

"An unacceptable excuse, but I'll forgive you this once. Come, let this veteran share some wisdom."

"Thank you." Moe bowed, somehow reaching almost a full ninety degrees.

"What should I call you?" Toan scratched his chin again, looking to the sky with a wise expression.

"Senior." He nodded solemnly.

"Call me senior."

"Alright." The two entered the tent. Evel stood dumbfounded. What? Shaking his head, he quietly followed the two, keeping his distance and remaining busy with random cleanup tasks.

"So, where's my station?" Moe asked. Toan shook his head.

"Station? You don't get a station. Your job is to write plays." Moe frowned.

"Plays? Didn't Eth already tell you? He told me I could be a comedian." Evel, in fact, had never told him he could be a comedian.

"Oh, strange. Well, then I guess you'll have to work your way up like the rest of us to earn a station." Toan — as someone who'd started off as head of the art department — had in fact never worked his way up. Because of his recent 'demotion,' he'd actually worked his way down, if anything.

"I'll aim to work as hard as you." Moe solemnly nodded.

"Then where's the plays department?" Evel had expected such a question, so he'd gone and reviewed all the answers with Toan beforehand. Toan shook his head.

"We don't have one." Evel narrowed his eyes.

"I thought I was working on plays."

"You are."

"And there's no department?"

"Not that I know of." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"So why am I here?"

"I dunno." Please don't tell me he forgot... Toan straightened, his face lighting up.

"Which makes your role all the more important." Moe held his breath.

"Really?" The baldie nodded once.

"Since you've gone around watching lots of plays and seen lots of shows, we need your vast experience to set up the department in the first place. You'll be the advisor as the whole system gets set up." Evel released a sigh of relief. This was the plan Evel and Yuna had agreed to after their discussion with the whole squad to keep Moe as unobtrusive as possible. They obviously couldn't let him manage anything, nor did Evel really want him writing the plays himself.

As an adviser, he'd still make some key decisions, but at least the majority of the work would stay under the control of others.

"So I'm like the wise sage?" Moe asked. Toan snapped his fingers.

"Exactly." Wise sage...

"Sage... hmm, there's gotta be a joke there..." Moe trailed off. Toan patiently waited beside him.

"What do you call a...?" He trailed off again. A full minute later, he shook his head.

"It seems jokes using the word 'sage' just don't exist. But I can tell you another one if ya want, Senior." Toan's face brightened at 'senior', and he nodded firmly.

"What do you call... ground beef? Wait, no — what do you call a cow with no legs?"

"What?"

"Ground beef." Moe looked at Toan, his brows knitted in worry. Toan scratched his chin as he stared at the floor. After a few seconds, Toan snapped his fingers.

"Oh! Because the cow's on the ground! Huehuehuehuehue!" Moe beamed with joy.

"WHAHAHAHAHA!" A few heads turned to the commotion, but quickly returned to work. Thankfully, it wasn't too uncommon an occurrence for people to joke around. The two idiots spent the next thirty seconds laughing together at the ground beef joke. Evel dusted the floors faster, but time crawled at the same pace. When the laughter finally died down, Toan exhaled.

"That must have been the joke that got you hired as a comedian. That was fantastic!" Hired as a comedian?

"Yup," Moe raised his chin. Then he got a little shy.

"D-do you think the other departments will get the joke?"

"Ooo, I know Mateo will; he's a smart guy. Let's go tell him first." Evel put away his broom and dustpan and scurried to follow behind. Though he didn't have much expectation, this was still a possible member of Dissent. Caution was mandatory. The next hour consisted of Moe and Toan going person to person, telling the exact same ground beef joke over and over again while Evel followed behind. Occasionally, others would chuckle slightly or nod along to the joke.

Yet every single time without fail, Moe and Toan somehow laughed at the joke.

'Laughed' didn't do it justice. It was more that they hollered. And it was the exact same three jokes. Every. Single. Time. A few times, he was recognized by some workers who gave him weird looks, but he shook them off to keep watching. Eventually, he retreated into his small tent. There was really no point in him continuing to watch. The only thing it really provided was mental fortitude training, but that wasn't something he was looking for right now.

Before, he had a suspicion, but now he was almost certain Moe's act wasn't fabricated. He was too consistent an actor! He didn't discount the actor possibility altogether, but felt far more confident in his plans moving forward.

"See you, Toa–Senior! I thank you for your guidance." Moe bowed.

"Safe travels, disciple." The baldie solemnly nodded. Moe stretched his arms with a yawn, then followed the path north, towards the bridge. Around fifty meters behind him was Evel, who kept his head low and footsteps light. It didn't take long for them to get to the bridge. Since he couldn't follow Moe in such a narrow path, he could only make out some of the conversation.

"Stop!" The guards were the same as usual. He thought they'd be used to all the crossing by now, but apparently not. If he recalled correctly, the evening guards were named Hugo and Lenox. These two were the ones who'd tried to extract his Riak when he first came into the city. He couldn't hear the next parts, which were a bit too quiet, but he did hear Moe's voice.

"A can't opener! WHAHAHAHAHA!" The guards shared a look. Some more discussions in silence. Finally, Moe rummaged through his pocket and tossed a coin over. The two guards split apart with satisfied smiles, leaving a gap for his new employee to pass through. After a few minutes of waiting, Evel scaled the bridge.

"H-Hello Eth!" Lennox and Hugo saluted. He summoned Eth, flaring his aura. He looked down on the guards and kept his voice slow but firm.

"If you force a single one of the circus members to pay a fine when crossing..." He paused, glaring at the guards.

"I'll kill you." They paled.

"W-we would nev—" Evel walked away before they could continue making excuses. Compared to these idiots, he preferred Brad and Chad a lot more. He also had far bigger things to worry about. Where did Moe... ah. He wasn't heading to the Moezaar or his home as Evel initially expected; instead, he walked towards the western side of the city where the Legerdemain performed. Finally, he'd learn more about the man! After a few minutes, Evel realized his mistake.

There was another establishment in the western slums: the Heavenly Knead.

"..." Evel silently waited outside, keeping clear of any wandering eyes. Not long after, Moe exited the building, a warm smile on his lips. Then he hit the road once more, the same path he'd led Evel on towards his mansion. Upon arrival, he struck up a conversation with one of his maids.

"What do you call a can opener that doesn't work?"

"What?"

"A can't opener!" He began hollering. The maid politely giggled. There was no secret identity, Evel decided.