A Street Performance (2)

As my debut performance continued, my illusions grew more complex, combining creativity and magic with a touch of science. With it, the cheers and donations only continued to increase:

“You can’t just pull a piano from behind someone’s ear!!!!”

“The lightning fishies are swimming!!”

“Fly penguin fly!”

“This… is… crazy… Are all mages like this…?”

I could tell that quite a number of people were starting to believe everything was real. Well, that was technically true, as an illusion conjured by mana, but there were definitely a few impossible by any sense. Was I going to reveal that? Of course not! An entertainer never showed his hand until the final climax.

And so, two hours passed. The lunch break was over, and most, if not all, of the street-goers had somewhere else to be – whether work or other tourist spots. As such, I circled the money bag around once more as I closed the show.

“Thank you everyone for sticking around, but unfortunately, it’s time for the curtains to close.”

A mixture of claps and boos ensued.

“Come on!”

“Give us more!”

“We’re already late as it is!”

“Now now, don’t worry,” I calmed the crowd. “If you want to see more, just come around tomorrow.”

“You sure?!?”

“I’ve got to tell my friends about this…”

“You better not be lying!”

“I guess you just have to wait and see. Now, thank you all for tuning in,” I threw a ball of fire into the air, once again turning into a phoenix crashing down on me. “And I’ll see you all in the next life!”

T@e #tre$m %as en^&d.

I had successfully managed to escape from the crowd, putting some distance in between where I just disappeared. A solid end, but it still felt too cliche. Honestly, given the change in direction, there were a few things about that performance that left me dissatisfied, but it was only my first show. I wasn’t going to get hung up on my failures.

Speaking of which, that blue box is back again. This time, it stuck around for a bit longer, allowing me to see the garbled end stream text. I wasn’t sure why, but it reminded me of myself – a foreign entity invading another world. Though I was kidnapped.

Still, does that mean it’s being streamed to my channel? Then am I still in my world but in some kind of virtual reality? But that doesn’t feel right. It’s more like–

Clap clap clap clap clap. “Marvelous! Simply splendid! That was a beautiful show!” I turned around with a jump, only to see Elvira giving me a round of applause, quite literally. Her clothes were a lot more pedestrian this time, with her form leaning masculine.

“You found me easily. Wait, were you watching the entire time?” Where in the world was she then?

“But of course! It was the perfect opportunity to figure out your style, and I was right! That suit will fit you perfectly, with a few modifications.” she expounded with glee.

“I hope so, after charging me seventy freakin’ thousand reales.” Seriously, I was broke after buying that suit – it cost me the same amount I sold that ring for. If it wasn’t for installments and the two thousand reales I earned today, I would’ve been in debt. Honestly, today’s debut went so well that I thought it was a godsend.

“But it’s worth it, right?”

“Hrgh.” Can’t say anything there. It’s terrifying how perfect that suit is. “Just let me know when you’re done.”

“Yes, yes. The Atmeneti Hotel, right? I’ll send someone over once it’s finished. I’d say about fifteen days or so. See you!” With a brief wave, Elvira disappeared into the crowd. It was so natural I didn’t even notice at first. One moment she was there, the next she was gone, almost like a well-trained assassin. Let’s just not think about it. I’ve got other things to worry about.

I took a quick look around. Everything seemed normal, but I had a nagging feeling something was off. Even as I took a quick stroll, that feeling didn’t go away. It reminded me of my university days, though in this case, no one was using mana, at least openly. So, I ducked into one of the nearby alleyways, trying to isolate them from the crowd. Of course, this was dangerous in its own right and probably boxing myself in, but when had that ever stopped me from escaping?

I continued wandering along until I met a dead end, and as expected…

“Hey you.” I turned around, coming face to face with my four stalk….ers? They’re not thugs? I suspected some sort of delinquent, but they looked like average citizens instead. Actually, scratch that. Their clothes are way too nice for the lower castes.

So, putting on my best smile, I switched back to performance mode. “Why hello there! I’m sorry but the tickets are sold out for right now, but you can always come back–”

“Yeah, yeah. Save me your act,” the one at the front barked. He was rather well built, his hands callused from some sort of weapon. “I saw you made some money back there, quite a good chunk for an illegal.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? That’s quite the accusation you’re making. I assume you have proof for such a baseless claim,” I spit out as bait. That taunt was oddly specific. They were likely guards or hired help for the upper castes.

“What kind of self-respecting mage would be working on the streets?” Is that why I don’t see many people using magic? Even so, they’re pretty bad at scouting talent.

“Really? Why does it matter where I want to work? I don’t give a crap about nobles, kings, and whatnot.” The man’s eye twitched in response. And of course…

“How dare you!!!”

“You bastard!!”

“You dare insult His–”

“SHUT UP!” The man yelled, likely scolding his subordinates. Yep, definitely works for a noble. Judging by that ‘His’, probably the usurper duke.

“Do you need a moment?” I asked with a teasing expression.

“...just show us your id, and we’ll leave you alone.” He didn’t even bother to hide his rage. So…

“Huh? Why would I do that?”

The four of them looked dumbfounded for a moment, as though they couldn’t believe what they heard. Are they stupid or something?

“How dare–!!!”

“Pull out your id now!”

“Do you know who we are?”

“Hey. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Do you think I’m going to listen to a bunch of idiotic stalkers? It’s not like your guards or anything.” That made all of them twitch slightly.

“...well you heard the fool. Get–”

“Now wait a moment.” I held up my hand. “Don’t even bother. It’s not like you have any means to stop me.” I gave a bright smile.

The man in front quickly became alarmed. “Stop–”

“[Creation (Illusion) – Teleport].”

And just like that, I looked like I disappeared from the spot.

“Damn it! He escaped!”

Now, time to find out what’s going on.