Arriving in the room, I rummaged through it.
It was filled with all sorts of potions, from air fresheners to cosmetics to bath salts.
They were gifts from Anais.
I picked up a bottle, undoubtedly a potion meant to aid recovery.
On my way back to E''s room, I took out the message again.
However, no matter how many times I read it, there was no information beyond what was written.
There were a few vague ideas, but at this point, they were just spective thoughts.
There was ack of clues to draw a conclusion.
What exactly happened between Wonderstein and E was a mystery.
If I pressed her about it, maybe I could learn something.
But I couldn''t bring myself to do it.
It would be delving into the child''s painful memories.
And there was another reason it was difficult to ask.
I was the one who caused it.
Asking what happened back then would be strange.
She might see it as another attempt by the devil to y tricks.
I closed the notification.
It was better to stop hasty spections and focus on the clues given now.
Debulroots Immunity.
How should I interpret this?
I had attempted to use Debulroots on other members before.
Their desire for a ''normal body'' was something I understood well.
If possible, I wanted to make them whole again.
I had consulted the Evolution Research Lab.
Their response at that time was:
[Unique traits cannot be changed.]
The same notification appeared as when I tried to remove ''The Smiling Man'' trait.
It was impossible to alter their innate appearance using Debulroots.
Because of their unique traits.
Wonderstein wasn''t simply gathering people who looked peculiar.
There was something behind it.
Organizing my thoughts, I arrived at E''s room without realizing it.
In the room, an unfamiliar middle-aged man was holding E''s wrist and checking her pulse.
Had the doctor arrived already?
Yurakne approached with a relieved face.
"We have a doctor among the guests staying here."
Due to the influx of touristsing to see the Circus Grand Prix, Luz was currently facing a shortage of amodations.
Even with plenty of money, some people had to sleep in carriages because there were no rooms avable.
Anais and Vergsong''s associates had temporarily left Luz, and during that time, they offered empty rooms to guests with connections to the associates.
It was better than leaving dozens of rooms empty in the hotel, especially in the current situation.
And fortunately, there was a doctor among them.
"How is she?"
In response to my question, the doctor smiled, a smile he must have used thousands of times to reassure worried family members.
"Don''t worry too much. It''s orthostatic hypotension. Did she sit crouched down and suddenly stretch while getting up? She fainted due to a rapid drop in blood pressure, causing ack of oxygen to the brain."
Was E''s body so weak?
He nodded as if understanding my gaze.
"It was probably abination of stress, fatigue,ck of sleep, and irregr lifestyle. If she drinks a nutritional potion and gets a good rest, she will recover soon."
In the end, it was said that she copsed due to overexertion.
Fortunately, it wasn''t a serious illness.
It was easy to guess why she had pushed herself unnecessarily.
The circus was her sanctuary.
Minimizing reliance on Wonderstein must have been a matter of pride for her.
The doctor stood up, having done everything he could.
"You can get a nutritional potion at the alchemy guild once the day brightens."
"Can''t we use this potion?"
I handed him a bottle of medicine from the room.
He examined thebel of the potion and widened his eyes.
"Oh, this one is famous for being hard to find! But, using something like this for a child…"
"It doesn''t matter."
Judging by the doctor''s reaction, it seemed like a valuable and expensive item.
It was probably a waste to use it for a simple illness.
However, what mattered now was her health.
I wanted to do everything I could.
I offered the potion to the doctor once again.
I insisted, and he finally epted the potion.
He seemed puzzled as he examined thebel.
Then, he looked up at me with a surprised expression.
"Ah, this is… a potion for men''s stamina."
"…"
"Do you see the name? ''Wife''s Tears.''"
Suddenly, embarrassment overwhelmed me.
If there hadn''t been theughing man, I would have blushed.
Why did Anais give me this?
Was it a gift set from the alchemy guild, like cosmetics and bath salts, packaged together?
Looking around, everyone was holding back theirughter.
But no one dared to mock Wonderstein.
Only Sven, whose clown nature had activated, was biting his lip, trying not tough. Chapter Continue:
At that moment,ughter emanated from the bed.
"Kik… Kik…"
E was looking at me with her eyes half-closed, a trembling smile on her face.
She spoke with a faint voice.
"D-did… see everything… that day, in the bedroom?"
Maya suddenly intervened between us, appearing somewhat desperate.
Her actions seemed a bit hurried.
She pulled E''s nket up to cover her chin.
"It''s a high fever. She''s been talking nonsense since earlier."
"Kik Kik… Maya, you too… saw it together…"
E mumbled, holding onto the nket.
Certainly, she still seemed disoriented.
Havingin in the cold rain for an hour, it was understandable.
"Director, it''s time to go to the theatre."
Maya, with a somewhat urgent demeanor, pointed to the clock.
By now, it must be six o''clock.
The baggage that theteen had brought and unloaded would be unpacked and set up.
"Is it already that time?"
"Let''s go and prepare for the performance."
"I think that''s a good idea."
"But what about E?"
The room became noisy.
At the same time, scattered side quests of the members came to mind.
Opinions among the members were split in half.
I carefully read through each quest and sorted them all out.
At this moment, I couldn''t be led by their wishes.
I stood in the center of the room.
The members, who had been shouting randomly, closed their mouths and looked at me.
I smiled at all of them.
"Tomorrow is the performance. No one can skip today''s rehearsal."
"But what about E?"
"We can ask the hotel staff for help. Honestly, the hotel staff can take care of people better than we can. Just try their massage service, and you''ll know."
Sighs escaped from various ces at my words.
"Everyone, please go to your rooms and bring your luggage. Let''s meet in the lobby."
Members went to their respective rooms, leaving only E and me.
After a few minutes passed like that,
"Ugh…."
She, who had the nket pulled over her, peeked her eyes out from under the nket.
As our eyes met, she was startled and looked elsewhere.
What''s her intention?
I walked to where she was looking. As soon as I stood there, she quickly averted her gaze again.
I moved to where her gaze turned. She averted her eyes once more.
We repeated this eye-catching game a few times.
Finally, she gave up running away and mumbled while ncing at me.
"What is it…"
"Hehe, surrendering?"
"Ugh… Why are you bothering me? I''m already tired…"
"Because you keep avoiding eye contact."
After taking a deep breath, I brought up what I had intended to say.
"Don''t you have anything you want to say to me about this incident?"
I hoped she would express her anger toward me.
It was my fault that she ended up like this.
If I heard her venting her dissatisfaction, my heart would have felt a bit relieved.
So, I deliberately acted annoying towards her.
However, what she said was entirely unexpected.
"I''m sorry…."
I stared at her nkly.
She''s apologizing?
Why?
"E, why are you apologizing?"
"Taking care of oneself is important. See, because I couldn''t do that, I became a burden to the team in the end."
This is not right.
No matter how diligent she is, this was not the case.
"No one thinks that way. Everyone knows how much you''ve suffered, E. Wasn''t your hard work for everyone?"
She hesitated for a moment before responding.
"No. That''s not it. I had a choice… I took on unnecessary hardships that I didn''t have to endure. Do you understand why?"
She sighed softly and revealed her hidden feelings.
I sighed inwardly with regret.
Since when did this child''s heart be so troubled?
"Considering what happened between you and me, it''s understandable why E acted that way."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Performance is amitment… Even if the partner is someone you dislike, if you''re cast as lovers, you have to act like lovers on stage. Even if they are enemies… if you took on the role of catching each other on the trapeze… you have to reach out. That''s the principle. But for personal reasons, I ruined that. Then, the punishment goes to the circus.
Like the ghost incident… Yeah, I received the punishment…"
While speaking, her voice gradually regained strength.
She grabbed the edge of the bed and tried to get up.
"Stay lying down."
"I have to go… I have things to do…"
"E is unwell. You need to rest."
"The show must go on. I can''t ruin it… Ugh."
Her attempt to stand faltered.
She supported herself with her elbows and fists, looking at me with determination.
"If I''m not there… who will be the ringmaster…?"
"I will do it."
Her eyebrows furrowed.
"You…?"
"I wrote the script. Did you forget?"
Her breathing wavered a bit at my words.
"But standing on the stage is apletely different matter. You…"
"I told you. I performed in front of 30,000 people."
Although it was behind a monitor.
To reassure her, I put on the most confident smile I could muster.
"Trust us and take a rest, E. Understand? Recovering your healthes first."
I was about to leave the room like that but stopped.
I didn''t say the most important thing.
I stayed in the room just to say this.
"E,Yang."
"…Yes?"
I took a moment to catch my breath and turned to her with a smile.
"I''m sorry for making you handle all the difficult things."
"What…?"
Leaving E, who was staring at me nkly, I quickly went downstairs.
The members were all gathered in the lobby, each holding their tools.
"Let''s go."
Three carriages, carrying all of us, dashed towards the cabaret, piercing through the pouring rain.