Chương 85: Changerooms

Yuna took a deep breath as she walked into the circus changerooms. The previous performance had blown away all those who attended, and by sheer word of mouth alone, the brilliance of the Ichoris Legerdemain spread far and wide. There were very few people who hadn't heard the exploits of the Oracle Hand, the man who peeked into the Mayor's future. The very Mayor who was the cornerstone of Ichoris. The very Mayor who facilitated all communications with the capital, and the Imperium at large!

A fresh wave of theories washed over the city, hoping to dissect the secrets of the great Oracle Hand. Some instantly became lifelong fans, while others vehemently pushed back, insisting that he was a fraud. A few bolder citizens, albeit behind closed doors, even accused the Mayor of being in on the trick. No matter what theory the citizens of Ichoris subscribed to, or how doubtful they were, there was only one way to know for sure. They had to see the man in person.

For Yuna, the supervisor responsible for ensuring everything ran smoothly, the pressure was almost overwhelming. Looking down at her checklist, she focused on the next item: Joanna. She did a quick preliminary search of the room before locating the woman. In her mid-thirties, the two were of similar age, but they just couldn't connect on a personal level. Shaking off her doubts, she walked over to the older woman who had a thick layer of makeup and excessive jewelry. Despite her…

interesting fashion sense, her business sense had already shown to be quite sharp.

"Oh, Yuna." Joanna greeted, her voice snarky. Or maybe that's just how she spoke. Either way, it pissed her off.

"Go talk to those at the front entrance." Yuna paused.

"We'll try out the strategy you proposed for tonight. Make sure you're back for the dry run." A small twinkle shone in Joanna's eyes, "Really?" Yuna immediately turned to leave, rolling her eyes.

'Really?' Urgh. The next item on her list was the man who was supposed to be Head of Staff, Mateo. She quickly found him in a corner, where he was still in his regular clothes and playing around with a deck of cards.

"Don't you have to change?" Yuna sighed.

"Huh?" Mateo looked up.

"Oh, Yuna! Check this out, I finally mastered the one-handed top palm!"

"Is that even part of today's routine?"

"No, but Toan bet me I couldn't master it before this performance." He giggled.

"The buffoon still thinks he won." Before Yuna could protest, Mateo began showing her the top card of the deck, the Jack of Hearts. He placed the deck on his left hand and swiped his right palm facing down across it. Then again, then then once more. None of his swipes had changed the deck in the slightest. Mateo's grin widened, and he bounced his eyebrows.

"Which swipe palmed the top card?"

"The s–""The first one!" The round-headed simpleton blurted out. He flipped over his right hand, revealing the Jack of hearts.

"Great, fantastic, amazing," Yuna sarcastically praised.

"Now put on your outfit, the show starts soon."

"Right? I'm gonna show Clara." He practically skipped away, and not towards his outfit. With a deep sigh, Yuna looked for the next person on the checklist, Toan. She found the baldy in a corner, inquisitively looking down at a huge unfurled banner with a subtle smile. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Is it ready?" She asked, slowly making her way to the Head of Art. Upon seeing him, his toothy smile widened, "My greatest masterpiece ever! Pretty good, huh?" It was a last minute suggestion by Toan to have a symbol representing the circus, and he'd been spending the last few days working nonstop on the design. A sudden quiet fell over her as she looked down at the intricately embroidered Banner. A singular black-gloved hand playing with the ace of hearts, the new symbol representing their circus.

After a few seconds, she finally spoke up.

"Now, don't let this go to your head, but yeah, this is practically perfect."

"Hmph," Toan replied, puffing out his chest.

"There's not much that can get to my head. The words of others have no impact on my being."

"Oh, really?" Yuna raised an eyebrow.

"With your... lack of hair, I thought everything would get through your head." Toan's head snapped to Yuna. The corner of her eye twitched.

"It's by choice…" He muttered, practically to himself. Yuna cleared her throat.

"Let people other than yourself admire it and go hang it up. Then, do a final check of all the props we need; it's almost time for the dry run." The baldy narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded. Pursing her lips, she averted her gaze and quietly slipped away. Finding the next person was easy, considering she was in the process of warming up her vocals.

"Got your lines memorized, Rora?" Last week, she'd just been a backup, but her performance was so good that she decided to keep her as the announcer for good. Her words had a certain excitement that made you feel as though she was enjoying the show as much as you. She returned a fierce thumbs-up while continuing her vocal training. Yuna nodded and moved on. So far, everything seemed to be going quite well.

Joanna was handling the front desk, security was already at their stations, and even the young man responsible for manning the VIP room was already there. Only one person was left on the checklist: Clara. A soft smile fell on Yuna's face as she watched the young freckled woman diligently do her stretches on the other side of the room while Mateo showed off his tricks. Of everyone at the circus, she had by far changed the most. Where she once looked frail and hollow, she now had some healthy weight on her bones.

"Feeling good, Clara?"

"Amazing," Her face lit up, even more than it already was.

"But I still need to stretch a bit more so I don't accidentally mess something up and break all my bones. Mateo just showed me a cool trick, too." Beside her, Mateo rubbed the back of his head and awkwardly chuckled. It wasn't just Clara. Most people in the changerooms underwent a physical transformation, as well as an emotional one. Most people at the Ichoris Legerdemain had quit working in the exhaustive mines and were earning enough to have some proper savings. Not to mention the forgiven debt…

And all of it was thanks to one businessman who saw the potential of the people there, rather than hiring those in Upper-Ichoris instead. A part of her knew it was only because they were cheaper, but either way, the effect had been positive. Thinking of the miracle magician, she turned to Mateo.

"Say, where's Eth? Shouldn't he be here by now?" Mateo shrugged, "We don't really talk that much outside of the circus." Yuna clicked her tongue. If anyone had known, it would be Mateo.

"And you're not planning on getting ready anytime soon?" Yuna made a last-ditch effort.

"Oh of course I will, but I got one more thing to show Clara." Beside him, Clara's eyes glowed in excitement. Yuna rolled her eyes and gave the two their privacy. She'd already gone through everyone once, and the results were good. With the excitement from their recent success, everyone seemed to be actively making an effort. Except, Mateo… But that's just how he was. Whenever he actually needed the practice, he'd be the one working harder than anyone else, so she excused it.

With a sigh, she placed the checklist down. Everything she could do had already been done, and it all came down to if everybody could perform. Just as she was about to take a seat, the front door creaked open. The busy rooms suddenly went silent as if they sensed the arrival of the person who made all of this happen. Eth. His deep auburn eyes, which felt a little colder than usual, washed over everyone. Then, he lightly nodded.

"I'm sure Yuna has told you all what to do. Continue your preparation." Yuna straightened her back upon being mentioned and tried to hide the pride swelling up in her heart. Before she could greet him, Mateo and Toan had already approached him.

"I mastered palming!" Mateo exclaimed. Beside him, Toan's eyes went wide. He muttered something under his breath. Eth nodded for him to continue, and Mateo performed the exact same trick he'd shown her.

"Ta-da!" Mateo beamed.

"Good work." Eth nodded briefly. Mateo gave a mocking look to Toan, then walked away. The baldy ignored him and turned to Eth with his chest puffed out. He unfurled the giant white Banner with his embroidered art.

"Took me forever between designing and actually creating this monstrosity, but this is the new face of the Ichoris Legerdemain." He grinned. Eth gave it a quick look before giving another quick nod of approval.

"Well done," He patted Toan's shoulder, then walked straight to Yuna.

"How long until the dry run?" She quickly snapped out of her daze.

"F-five minutes. Everyone, for the most part, is ready." Eth took a sharp breath and scanned the room one more time. She wondered what sort of thoughts went through someone who was so accomplished at such a young age. Either way, she was glad she was part of his success.

"Alright, begin the practice. I'll be there in my outfit when it's my time."