Master and Slaves

After a while, a man in his early thirties wearing all black came to the center of the stage and began his greeting.

The circus was about to start.

But there were only about ten people besides us.

I didn’t know how long this place had been performing, but calling it the final show with so few spectators seemed strange.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming to see our acrobatics today. Thanks to you all, we have been able to perform for five years. However, after half a year since Paolocarega died, it has become difficult to maintain the Carrega Circus. Therefore, today I will unfortunately hold the last performance. Thank you very much to all..."

The black-clad man spoke at length.

I thought it would be better to enjoy the circus without such long speeches before it started.

Other guests looked bored, and there were scattered whispers.

"...Ahem! Now, the performance will begin."

The man, veins bulging on his temple, announced the start of the show.

There were sparse claps.

"First, the training of the beasts."

A young man and a medium-sized dog appeared.

They sat, shook hands, begged, and rolled over on the platform.

...That was all.

They bowed and left.

"That’s easy. My dog can do that."

A blunt criticism was heard.

"Then, the sword-throwing by the big man."

The man who came out was indeed huge.

He must have been nearly 2 meters tall.

The three swords he held were greatsword-sized, but they looked small in his hands.

This was promising.

...However, it ended in disappointment.

He juggled the three swords one after another, but he grabbed them not by the handle but by the blade.

Because he held them so firmly, it was obvious the swords were fake.

He threw them a few times, failed, tried again, and failed again.

There was no way anyone would come to see this.

"Then, next is the graceful sword dance of the young ladies."

The next performers were the girl I had met at the square, Rina, and two other women: one with tanned skin about twenty years old and one white woman about ten years old.

They began dancing with curved swords called falchions in both hands.

"Hoh."

"Beautiful."

Exclamations of admiration came from the audience.

"This is magnificent."

"Amazing, amazing."

Muriel and Cathy praised them.

Tiria and Ilma were also captivated by the sword dance.

It was indeed beautiful.

Thin fabric floated, and the swords drew circular arcs.

When she seemed to be dancing alone, she would clash swords with someone else.

But she stopped just in time without making a sound.

"That lady is skilled with the sword."

Muriel praised the tanned woman.

In contrast to Rina and the other girl’s modest costumes, she wore a provocative outfit.

By watching her, it became clear that she made the clumsiness of Rina and the other girl’s dances less noticeable and instead emphasized the parts where they succeeded.

It was only natural that she would use her skill to handle the swords.

And the timing was perfect even without music.

They were in perfect sync.

The sensual dance and the pure dance and the childish dance combined into a more beautiful dance.

When the sword dance ended, a loud round of applause broke out, completely different from before.

Rina and the others bowed and left the stage.

"This concludes today’s performance. Thank you all for coming."

The first man appeared again, bowed, and thanked everyone.

"Hey, is this it already?"

"Eh? Tim isn’t performing today?"

"I’m sorry... I was looking forward to Tim’s tightrope walk."

Such words came from the audience.

There were probably other things.

The guests booed and left the tent.

"Well then, shall we go too?"

I called out to Muriel and the others.

"Wait a moment."

The man in black reappeared on stage.

—-

"Hold on a moment."

Rina appeared from the stage.

"Um... are you Helma-chan’s... Helma’s mother?"

Rina looked at Muriel and spoke.

"...Yes. That’s right."

Muriel hesitated for an instant, then answered.

"Um, I always play with Helma-chan. I take her shopping or sometimes she comes to see my dance. She’s really bright and looks like she’s having fun, but sometimes she says she wants to see her mother. Please take her to her mother."

Rina suddenly poured out the words and bowed her head to Muriel.

"...Thank you."

Muriel, who had been stunned, quickly came back to herself and bowed her head.

"Please play with Helma-chan again."

"That’s... I can’t. Because I... am sold..."

Rina lowered her head and answered.

"Sold? What do you mean?"

"They need money. The circus is disbanding, and people like us who are sold are being sold to earn money. Tim was...."

Tim was the name the guests had mentioned.

He had already been sold.

How cruel.

"Um, sorry. Could you buy these girls for us?"

From behind Rina, the tanned woman who had danced the sword dance with her earlier called out.

The white girl who had danced with her was also with her.

"Sara-oneechan... Rine too...."

Rina turned around and muttered.

Sara was the name of the tanned woman, and Rine was the white girl.

"Rina, you fell in love with this person, didn’t you?"

"Sara-oneechan, what are you talking about...."

"This Rine is Rina’s little sister. Please buy the two of them for me. Please."

Sara bowed her head.

But even if they asked to buy them...?

"Sara-oneechan...."

"You want to become a Dule, don’t you."

"!!"

"Ah, could we also increase the number of Dules by one more?"

Sara, the woman called Sara, looked around at Muriel and the others, then asked me.

"No, we can do it... but...."

"Please. Please make Rina your Dule."

Sara dropped to her knees on the ground and bowed her head.

Even if they suddenly asked something like that, I was troubled.

Rina was also stunned.

Looking around, Muriel, Cathy, Tiria, and Ilma were all stunned.

"Look, Rina, bow your head too."

"Eh? Um, um, please."

Rina bowed her head at Sara’s urging.

Rine also looked around curiously and bowed her head in the same way.

"No, it’s not that simple. First, why me...."

"Because Rina fell for you, Master. So please."

"Even if you say that...."

"Hey, what are you doing! Hurry up and prepare! It’s starting soon, so hurry up a bit!"

A man’s voice came from the back of the stage.

The man who came out was the black-clad man who had greeted at the beginning and end of the show.

"""Boss!"""

"Hurry up and prepare!"

"""Yes!"""

After Rina and the others bowed to me, they returned to the back of the stage.

The man called the boss came close to me, looking me over.

"...Did you do something to them?"

"...Ha?"

What is this guy talking about?

"What do you mean did something? Those girls are commodities. If even one scratch is there, you’ll regret it!"

He raised his voice and threatened.

Now that he was closer, I realized he was shorter than me.

The man stood with his chest puffed out, looking up at me as if looking down.

However, sweat was pouring from his forehead, and his voice was trembling.

He was loudly threatening, but it was obvious he was bluffing.

Hah.

Well, whatever.