Chương 57: Second Member of the Troupe

After grabbing the flask of water Mateo requested, Evel sat on the chair across the couch and watched the recovering man. Here I was, underestimating a Danger Zone of all places…

"So…" Mateo began, his voice already much stronger than ten minutes ago.

"Why the visit?" Evel smiled, "Actually, I'm here to offer you a job." Mateo's eyes widened a little, still able to show excitement despite the poor state of his body.

"What do I need to do? Give me just twenty or so minutes to recover, and I'll be ready…"

"No, we're not starting quite yet," Evel replied, amused.

"The location of our show hasn't even been built yet."

"Wow… Are you making a whole new building? You must be like super rich. What will I have to do?"

"Have you ever heard of a circus?"

"No… wait, do I need to, for the job? Yes, I've heard of it, but you can remind me if you want." Evel shook his head.

"Have you heard of street magicians?"

"Yes… Those I have, but I never got to see one. People say they can make things disappear without any abilities. I've always wanted to meet one." Evel reached into his pocket, took out his deck of cards and began shuffling them with enthusiasm. In a swift motion, he caught them all and spread them wide out ahead of Mateo.

"Go on, pick a card, but don't look at it quite yet." Mateo adjusted his position and reached forward to grab a card. A hint of confusion was betrayed by his face.

"Good." Evel began collecting all the cards in his right palm.

"Now place it on top of the deck." Mateo complied. Evel slightly lifted up the top card of the deck and showed it to Mateo.

"So this is your card, right?"

"Yes…" He returned the card to Mateo.

"Now, don't look at it for now, but keep your eyes on the deck instead." After a few complicated shuffles and maneuvers, Evel held out the deck in front of him.

"What if I told you that during the shuffling I just did, I was able to swap out your card for a card in the deck?" Mateo shook his head with a frown.

"No, I've been holding on to my card the whole time. When you were shuffling the cards, only the cards that were already in the deck could be moved around. That wouldn't be possible." Evel placed his palm over his deck.

"Just pretend you believe me for a second. Right now, your card is somewhere deep, deep within the middle of the deck. Watch as I bring it to the top." Evel tapped on the deck a few times with his palm. Tap. Tap. Tap. Then, ended it with a quick snap.

"Go ahead, look at the card you're holding." Mateo's eyes widened as he looked at the card, then at Evel, then back at the card. That wasn't the card he was holding a few seconds ago!

"H-Ho–""Now, take the top card from the deck." Mateo looked nervous as he reached forward with shaky hands. He grabbed the card, looking at Evel suspiciously for any movement. Then he slowly flipped it over.

"Was that your card?"

"... Yeah?" It came out as a question more than an affirmation, as if he couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"Now you've met a street magician." Evel smiled. For all the people who hadn't gotten a chance to see the wonders of magic yet, it was no doubt a whole new world.

"H-h-how?" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. It had been really simple, actually. When he first grabbed Mateo's card and placed it on top of the deck, he used a double lift to show Mateo the wrong card as 'his'. After that, all it took was a series of false shuffles and a little showmanship to keep Mateo convinced he still held his card. Of course, Evel wasn't going to tell Mateo all this. Not yet, at least.

"Magicians don't reveal secrets," Evel replied with a shrug.

"Now, your job will be really simple, actually. All you'll have to do is introduce and explain a few parts to the audience. It's important that as the magician, I remain mysterious." That wasn't strictly true, of course. His mentor was the perfect example of a showy magician who loved getting in people's faces. Evel personally just preferred the mystique – it made him look cooler.

"Okay! I'll do it!" Mateo exclaimed, his original vitality slowly returning. He paused for a second, then clarified.

"Wait, no, I don't accept. Unless the pay is super good, I don't accept." A worse negotiator than me really does exist…

"How much do you get paid at Slack-Stone a day right now?"

"10 Riak for the day, but they provide nutri-packs and water for free too." Knowing Agent was originally willing to pay for 'upper' workers, Evel felt confident they'd be able to provide a good amount of funds.

"Alright, at least 20 to start, but probably even more down the line."

"Deal!" Mateo punched the air a few times in excitement.

"I might actually be able to buy myself out of working in the mines now!" Evel tilted his head.

"You can't just quit?" Mateo shook his head.

"Moving here, and initial living expenses were costly, so I took out a loan from Redigo. After all, a better life awaited me here. They forgave it under the condition that I worked in the mines, but if I ever wanted to leave, I'd have to pay it back in full. If I'm being honest, I didn't quite understand what I was signing up for… I don't know if I could survive a full year or two in the mines."

"How much is your debt?"

"190, but it's difficult to save up…" Evel considered Mateo's words carefully.

"Are your fellow miners in the same situation?" Mateo awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "Ah, yes, yes, all of my friends are in the same situation." Something about the situation rubbed Evel the wrong way. Yes, all the people had agreed to the circumstances… Something to keep in mind…

"Anyways, I need your advice on something." Evel explained the two options he had for the circus's location, and after a bit of back and forth and explaining how a circus would perform, they decided on the western one, closer to the merchants. It was a common hangout area for a lot of people anyway, so they'd likely be able to get more natural traffic in the earlier stages, and it was just central enough where it'd avoid the 'super scary stuff' on the western edges of the slums.

Clara had also said something similar, but when Evel asked for clarification, Mateo just shrugged.

"I dunno, but other people have said it was scary and I'm not gonna be the one to find out just how scary." Mateo's energy had mostly fully returned, so Evel sat up.

"Could you show me around the marketplace a bit? I'd like to know the area a little more. I'll buy you food as compensation." Mateo jumped up on his feet, a wide smile on his round face.

"Of course! And I promise not to pretend to kill you this time!"

"... Thanks." The two of them exited the house, walking at a slow pace as Mateo still wasn't fully recovered. They casually conversed throughout the whole walk, as Evel got a better grasp of the location. Meanwhile, on Upper Ichoris…

"I'm gonna marry her." Blake proudly proclaimed as he walked through the tight corridor. Graham followed close by.

"And why would she wanna marry a loser like you?" Graham poked. Surprisingly, Blake didn't get mad.

"You didn't see the way she looked at me. Not to mention I'm a soldier of Redigo!" Blake yelled out, causing some passerbys to give him confused looks. This time, Graham didn't have a reply to such enthusiasm, so he simply followed his friend in silence. As they approached the bridge, Blake's energy suddenly drained as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"I swear to god if these guards are anything like the two guards from earlier, I'm burning this fucking city to the ground." Upon seeing the two approaching men, the guards politely bowed.

"Good day, sirs."

"Good day. Did a man in a tophat cross over from the slums to Upper-Ichor?" Blake asked. The guards shared a brief look before one of them spoke up.

"Yes… was he a criminal who we shouldn't have let through? We apologize if that was the case." Blake shook his hands, "No, no, nothing of the sort. We were just a little curious, that's all."

"He said his name was Eth," the guard nervously began.

"He showed up and immediately threatened our lives to let him through. We were just doing our jobs…"

"So a violent one, eh?" Graham scratched his chin with a hum.

"Y-yes! If he had just simply shown proof he lived up there, we would have had no reason to refuse…

"Any physical features about the man you remember?" Blake asked. As of now, all they knew was that he was 'average' height and wore a top hat and suit. Nothing that could particularly help them spot him out.

"H-he had these deep, murderous eyes that tore into your being and a pristine suit…"

"And a scar," the other guard added.

"Thin and vertical down his face. No doubt a battle scar he got from a fight he himself started." Blake and Graham took a step back to discuss amongst themselves.

"So?" Blake asked.

"These guards don't seem as slow as the other ones, so we can believe some of their words, but I wouldn't trust much other than the physical description," Graham noted.

"Why would they lie?"

"They aren't lying. They're just weak, so everyone looks terrifying." Blake scoffed.

"Dumbasses." The two returned to the guards and thanked them. After crossing the bridge, Blake led the way over to Mateo's house. More than anything, they needed a few other opinions. Arriving in front of the house, Blake stepped forward and knocked. No reply. He tried again, this time much louder. Nothing.

"WAKE UP!" This time, he basically punched the door. Still no reply. Behind him, Graham stood still with his hand over his lips, hiding his smile.

"Looks like he's out again."

"Yeah, I can see that. Dumbass." Blake shook his head and leaned on the door, arms crossed.

"So… you're just gonna wait for him?" Graham asked.

"What else can we do? We only got one recount, and that's nowhere near reliable enough."

"Technically, we got two. And maybe a few more will find their way into our ears." Blake looked at Graham, then scratched his chin.

"You might be on to something…" Blake pondered. He pushed off the door and stepped back on the pathway. Today was a job well done, and after filling out a few forms, they'd get their much-deserved rest.