Acclimatization ✧ 3

With the short woman (which I had learned to be called Ivone) guiding me to sit on one of the spectators' seats, I felt a bit concerned whether I was taking from her practice time. When I voiced this worry, she told me that it was fine, and that introducing things to a newcomer was one of her tasks as well.

I took a seat as she kept on standing, moving her body back and forth.

“A physically active sort… she reminds me of little dogs. Y’know, like the ones that never ever stop moving and barking.”

An image of a small puppy holding a comically large knife with her mouth appeared in my mind. I suppressed my laughter, resulting in a bright grin.

“Waow, what a beaming smile! You'd look amazing on the stage down there.”

I waved my arms. “Ah, no no! I don't think I will be one of the performers… I don't have a suitable Aberrance for it. It's better suited for people like you.”

She held her hands inside her pocket, shifting her weight to one side and another.

“Hmm, but do you even know what kind I have~? Either way, let's talk about personal details later. First things first, do you know which organization funds our circus?”

My mind went blank for a moment. Did I know…? I tried to recall the image of the pamphlet. I did faintly remember a logo of some sort by the corner, but… I had no idea what it was for. With a slight blush on my face, I told her the truth.

“I… actually have no idea. Despite being an Aberrant, I am not too knowledgeable about the organizations—I only know of their existence, and not the details. I am from a small village called Tarrin, so I might be a bit oblivious…”

I raised my face to meet her eyes, and found that she didn't seem to find this strange in the slightest.

“No problem! It's no biggie to not know something. I don't know what country that village is in, and you don't know about us… isn't this exchange of information quite exciting?”

The tone of her voice, her mannerisms, everything was so charismatic about her. Eager to know more about her, and the circus, I listened to her with sparkling eyes. Any discomfort, or sign of nerves, had melted away from my system.

She explained that there were quite a lot of support groups for Aberrants in the world, some local and some international. The one which funded the Aberrants' Circus was called ‘Flourishing Hearts Network' and while it was by no means the oldest one, it was one of the most active.

“I'd say, we are probably one of the largest two, with the other being the Aberrants Aid Association, commonly called as the AAA.”

That name did ring a bell, as my aunt had told me that sometimes they'd have events in Balamur City, and that I could maybe participate in one of them. However, me being of school age during those events, we could never make schedules fit for a trip from the village to the city.

My aunt never explained what they did in detail, but I supposed she wanted me to socialize with fellow Aberrant kids. Ah, how happy she would be to know my current situation…!

“If you're curious about the AAA, feel free to ask people around, as most of them have experiences since childhood with their support sessions. Ah, but never mention them to Roan, okay? He won't be happy.”

Roan… the name that both the Director and Ivone had mentioned. I curiously tilted my neck.

“I was wondering… I heard both you and the Director mention that name. Who is it?”

Her face considerably soured in expression. “Eh, he's just a weirdo who happens to be our translator among some other things, you'll meet him eventually. Enjoy your peace while it lasts.”

Her words, combined with her pained expression, made me wonder what kind of person this mystery Roan was. She didn't seem to want to talk about him much, but I had to ask what she meant by not mentioning the AAA in front of him.

“I don't know, really. Maybe he had a bad experience with them as a kiddo? I'm not on the best terms with him, so if he ever tells you, let me know too, yeah~?”

She winked at me and her cool demeanor was back up.

“As I was saying… our cute little circus is funded by the FHN, and generally the goal is to make sure Aberrants know their worth and how amazing they can be. Not only do our differences attract the attention of a good kind, which makes performers find confidence, we also aim to inspire the audience.”

That made perfect sense, it had done just that for me and Nilsu, and I was sure the rest of the audience felt so as well.

Nilsu… had she visited yet? Suppressing this question as to not to divide the topic, I kept on listening to Ivone.

“We go from city to city, and to be honest, our modest little circus is still in development stage. Not everyone can be mobile, and some people can only perform in their hometown. Our shows take shape according to the participants, and we are always open to new ideas. We can be a rather spontaneous bunch, much to the dismay of the Director~”

She chuckled and finally sat down next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“So, Mirai. Tell me, what kind of fresh ideas would you like to bring to the table?”

I looked down, trying to gather my thoughts and give her a nice, presentable answer.

“I would… probably like to handle things backstage at first. I am pretty strong, unlike my frail appearance, and I could handle stuff like selling tickets as well.”

I raised my head to meet her gaze.

“Would that be okay for now…? Sorry that it's nothing groundbreaking.”

She raised her eyebrow, seemingly not believing my words. “Woah, really? You didn't apply to perform? Since you have such a bright, clear voice I thought you'd definitely love the spotlight!”

“You can say that because you haven't met me yet.”

“We have the same vocal cords, Mimi…”

“Yeah, but it's not my thing to raise my voice and stuff. What if we switched mid performance.”

Ignoring Mimi’s concern, I felt my cheeks get tingly with a blush. “Y-you think so, Miss Ivone?”

She grinned brightly. “Why of course! You should totally consider being our Ringmaster, judging from you helping the Director with translations, you seem like you'd grasp target languages very well!”

My eyes widened. A ringmaster…

The image of me, standing in the center of the ring as the colorful, warm spotlight wrapped me from all angles flashed in my mind. Facing the excited audience, setting the mood, everyone's eyes on me…

My heart beat faster. I loved that idea. I really did.

Before I could respond, she hastily stood up from the spectator's seat next to me.

“Ah ah, sorry dear Mirai! They're calling for me, I gotta go. But feel free to chat with the rest of the crew, and I hope to see you around~”

I looked around to see who might have called her, thinking I had missed the source of the voice during my fanciful daze. However, I didn't see anyone close by. I recalled how she had done a similar thing during the show, and I realized I had forgotten to check her ears for a portable device.

Regardless, as I watched her strong and lean body jump over the rows of seats, I could only think one thing:

Gods, she was so cool…