Fantasia of the Dream-Protecting Acrobats ~Western Country & Central Country~

Shylock: With that sorted, I'll discuss the seating situation with the ringleader.

Rustica: I'll help. He was such a pleasant fellow, I'd love the chance to talk with him some more.

Murr: I'll go with you guys too!

Chloe: And I...

Chloe: Marie. Would it be alright if I made an outfit for your friend for tomorrow?

Marie: An outfit...?

Chloe: Yeah. Tomorrow will be a special time for the both of you, right? So I thought it might be nice if we could dress him up for the occasion, too!

Marie: ... that's very kind of you, but are you sure you want to do that? We don't have a lot of time.

Chloe: Of course!

Cain: We'll help out, don't worry. We'll get it done in time for tomorrow's show with time to spare.

Riquet: I'll help, too! I've gotten very good at cutting out the paper patterns with scissors!

Akira: Chloe, let me help, too.

Chloe: Thank you all so much. I feel much better with the three of you helping out.

Marie: ... mister Chloe. Can I take another look at the outfit you made for me?

Chloe: Of course. It is yours, after all.

Chloe again produced her costume by magic and offered it to her once more.

Marie took the costume firmly and clutched it tightly as though it were a precious treasure.

Marie: I'm sorry for making things so difficult for you earlier.

Marie: In truth, I thought the costume was so charming that I wanted to put it on and get on the trapeze right away!

Chloe: Really!? Eheheh, well, I'm happy to hear that!

Chloe's eyes narrowed happily as Marie hugged the outfit to her chest.

Time flew until the next day's performance.

I helped out with making the outfit for the lion statue, then left Chloe and company alone to to present the costume to Marie, and I went to check on everybody else's current status.

Akira: (Whoa, the statue is floating in the air!)

As I waited near the entrance of the tent, Oz and Arthur brought the lion statue towards me.

Arthur: Master sage, sorry to keep you waiting!

Oz: Arthur. Concentrate. If you waver for even a moment, the statue may shatter.

Arthur: Ah... I'm sorry, master Oz. I simply got excited to see the sage.

Akira: It doesn't look like he’s very easy to carry...

Oz: This statue is far more decayed on the inside than appearances would betray. It's a miracle that it was able to speak so well last night.

Akira: We'll have to show it to its seat as soon as possible, then.

Arthur: Got it. Has a seat been arranged?

Murr: Master sage~! One lion seat, coming up!

Akira: It sounds like it is! Everybody, thank you so much!

Shylock: The ringleader has reserved a spot for both us and the lion in the corner of the tent.

Rustica: Mister ringleader, thank you--

Ringleader: No, no, by all means, thank you. Thank you for the wonderful idea you gave me for our circus yesterday!

Rustica: -- very much. We will have to have tea again after the--

Ringleader: Ah, yes, after the performance! I'll share some of my liquor collection with you!

Shylock: Oh, that sounds delightful.

Akira: (The conversation’s still happening at different speeds, but at least they're managing to communicate...)

Rustica: It seems that it's time to show our guest of honor to his seat. Let us take you there.

Akira: Whoa...! Special VIPS seats with an amazing view!

Arthur: We'll be able to see the trapeze well from here.

Akira: Well, then the only thing left is...

Chloe: Everyone, I'm here! I brought the outfit!

Riquet: Chloe, let's get him dressed up right away.

Chloe: Right!

Chloe:《Suispisiva Voitingoc》

Chloe cast his spell and a costume floated out of his sewing box and draped itself on the lion statue.

There was a circus-like cape that fastened itself around the lion’s neck with a striped ribbon, and a shiny gold crown settled on top of his head, transforming the old statue into a very regal figure.

Rustica: What a wonderful work of art; it's most admirable. You've made very appropriate costumes for today.

Cain: Yeah, it looks great! This guy has the aura of a great king who's been keeping watch over the town all this time.

Cain addressed the lion statue and stroked its stone mane with a friendly, gentle touch.

Arthur: Were you trying to match the feeling of the costume you made for Marie?

Chloe: Yup! I wanted them to match.

Chloe beamed, a little embarrassed.

But at that moment, the sound of a bell signaled that the circus show was about to begin.

Shylock: We'd best take our seats.

Akira: The show's about to start! Cain, were you able to shake hands with Marie when you handed over the costume?

Cain: Yup. I was able to talk to some of the other members of the troupe, so I got the chance to shake hands with them as well.

Cain: I figure I should be able to see the same thing as you for about half of the show.

Akira: (He says that, which means he shook hands with half of the troupe... good going, Cain.)

We took our seats by the lion statue and turned our eyes to the stage.

After the lights went down, the stage was lit up, and at long last, the circus show began.

Riquet: Waah!

Akira: Amazing...!

The performers leapt through rings of fire where the flames attacked them like beasts, and walked on tightropes that rippled and waved violently. One exciting performance involved standing on a stack of chairs stacked precariously one on top of the other, and the chairs magically changed their size and shape at random.

The performance was heart pounding and thrilling; I couldn't take my eyes off it for even a moment.

It all happened right in front of our very eyes.

Riquet: Master sage, look! That wizard turned into a cat and began to dance!

Akira: I-it's so cute...!

Towards the middle of the show, they started pulling volunteers out of the audience, which got the entire venue even more excited.

Performer: Hey there, mister sexy! Come up here and juggle with me!

Shylock: Oh? Am I being selected?

Murr: No fair, I wanna go up too!

Shylock: What a shame, Murr, it seems that this young man prefers me.

Shylock was in a jovial mood and took the invitation to join the performers on stage.

Performer: So what's going to happen is, I'm going to pass you a ball that I've been juggling, and you're going to catch it, alright?

Shylock: I see. Understood.

The performer tossed a few balls into the air, and passed them back and forth between his hands in a rhythmic fashion.

The balls magically transformed, from flowers into bottles, from candies into whips, and everything in between, as Murr watched on with delight.

Murr: This guy's a newbie, isn't he? Shylock's gonna have a lot of fun with him.

Arthur: Are you sure? He seems really adept with the juggling balls.

Murr: Yeah, but look closer– he looks nervous. His gaze isn't steady, and his movements are--

Arthur: Whoa!

One of the balls that the performer passed to Shylock flew off in an unexpected direction, and the performer's face was clouded with apprehension.