Chapter 133: Fireflies
With the police and the Pro Hero Steel-Gate Rikishi guiding them, the residents all lined up in an orderly fashion. Most of them took out their phones at a simple table set up to the right of the gate, showed the staff their online ticket purchase, and received their physical tickets.
There were also many who had decided to see the show on the spot. They paid the government employee sitting behind the table, got their tickets, and passed through the gate one by one.
Thanks to the clown's earlier performance, the residents were more than happy to pay, with some even opting for the expensive VIP seats. They were all incredibly excited to see what surprises this circus had in store.
The first person to pay tucked his ticket into his breast pocket and eagerly walked to the closed main gate. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.
A dense forest appeared before him, blocking the view of the castle-like tent that was glowing with a yellow light in the center. At his feet was a small path paved with cobblestones, leading deep into the woods.
The moment he stepped onto the cobblestone path, small blue lights on either side suddenly lit up, forming two seemingly endless parallel lines that cast a blue glow on his face.
He had been to Oma Park before, but he swore that there had never been anything like this. Did this mean the circus had set up this blue path?
One of the reasons Oma Park was unpopular with the citizens was the circle of trees planted at the entrance, which were left unlit at night. Just like its name, "Twilight Park," the quiet darkness always made people think that demons were lurking inside. Aside from a few kids looking for a thrill, no one was willing to come here to be scared.
To avoid frightening the children, they've really put a lot of thought into these little details.
The first audience member smiled. Like Hansel and Gretel in the fairy tale, using breadcrumbs to mark their path, he followed the faintly glowing blue road toward the big top, which looked like a warm and inviting home...
"Yes, okay, I understand..." Uwabami listened to the voice coming from her walkie-talkie, then switched it off excitedly. "Director! Two-thirds of tonight's tickets have been sold, and the number is still growing!"
"Whoo-hoo! Alright!" Everyone on the stage let out a cheer.
Kira walked over to the clown, who hadn't taken off his makeup yet, and thanked him with a smile. "Kansou-kun, thanks to you, we've achieved our first small goal."
If they could get two-thirds of the audience to come for all three nights, then at the very least, this performance wouldn't lose money.
Jodo Chenjie also ran over, his face flushed with excitement. "Eruto, you were amazing! I could hear the audience's applause all the way from here! As expected of a former magician!"
The clown who had been performing outside was Kansou Eruto. His Quirk was "Deformation Paint," which allowed him to create various colored paints out of thin air and then morph and expand them.
Before becoming a member of the band, he had performed as a street magician and had been very popular. To drum up interest in ticket sales, he had volunteered to do a street performance. After a brief chat with the police at the entrance, he had put together that brilliant show in less than twenty minutes.
Kansou smiled. "Nah, it was just a little trick. I just helped a bit. Your performance is the main event."
That was true. The audience was already entering the park, and the first person was about to reach the tent. They hadn't come to see a clown's street performance; they had come to see a circus.
Yoshikage Kira made a phone call to Momo. "You two, a large audience is approaching. Remember to get ready."
Standing at the entrance of the tent were two people: Momo Yaoyorozu and Itsuka Kendo. They were both wearing form-fitting cheongsams, and their job was to greet the guests.
Momo looked at Kendo, who was staring excitedly toward the park entrance, and sighed. "Kira-kun, I just realized... we came here to watch the show, not to work..."
Kira's calm voice came through the receiver. "But you were the one who volunteered, weren't you?"
Originally, because of a lack of manpower, Kira hadn't planned any warm-up acts or greeters. He was just going to let the audience find their own seats, like at a movie theater. But Momo and Kendo, watching the 'soul' band tune their instruments and the other performers run through their lines, had suddenly felt a wave of anxiety and had offered to help. After a brief thought, Kira had assigned them to be the greeters.
"Are you regretting it? The greeter job isn't really necessary. We can scrap it."
"Regret? Not at all..." Momo said suddenly. "After this is over, you're treating me to dinner."
Kira didn't like being indebted to people. He couldn't have asked for a better offer.
The first audience member entered. Momo and Kendo both smiled and said in unison, "Welcome to the Twilight Circus."
Yu Sakihara watched as her mother laughed uncontrollably at the clown's performance, and a smile appeared on her own face. After buying their tickets, they walked into the park.
Because they had decided to see the show at the last minute, by the time they got to the front of the line, there weren't many people left behind them. As she stepped onto the ghostly blue cobblestone path, Yu also thought of that famous fairy tale.
It's a shame there are no breadcrumbs... And my mom is right here beside me... Thinking this, a smile unconsciously spread across her face, and her heart suddenly felt a little lighter.
Suddenly, Mrs. Sakihara squeezed the hand that was holding Yu's and shouted excitedly, "Yu! Look! Fireflies!"
Yu looked up in surprise and saw a swarm of small, green-glowing insects gradually approaching her. She instinctively stopped.
As if they had a specific target, the fireflies came right up to Yu and began to circle around her.
Yu carefully held out her index finger. A single firefly, as if it understood her body language, gently landed on it.
Fireflies... To see a single firefly at night was already a rare sight, let alone a whole swarm. This was a scene you could probably only see in a well-preserved park like this one.
A girl, so cute you couldn't help but want to cherish her, stood on the blue cobblestones, surrounded by a swarm of glowing fireflies, one of which was perched on her finger. The area was silent, save for the gentle breeze that was softly blowing the girl's hair. In that instant, she was as beautiful as a painting, like a Disney princess.
Even though they could have just walked around her, the few people behind Yu stopped in their tracks, staring at the scene, speechless. After a long moment, one of them finally managed to say, "The fireflies really like that little girl..."
If only she could take off her shoes and stand on the cool cobblestones with her bare feet, it would be even more perfect...
At their words, Yu snapped back to reality. She knew why the fireflies were surrounding her. It must have been her own unconsciously released hormones that had attracted them.
Yu's heart suddenly felt... open. All of her worries from today seemed to vanish in an instant.
Even if her Quirk had caused her a lot of trouble... it was loved by the fireflies.
And that... was enough.
—CLICK!
A white flash suddenly lit up the girl's face. The fireflies, startled, began to fly about like headless flies, quickly scattering away from her.
Mrs. Sakihara turned around, annoyed. "Who are you!? Don't you know you need to ask for permission before you take a picture!? And your flash scared all the fireflies away!"
Not just her, but the audience members behind them also shot a displeased look at the person who had taken the photo.
A young man with a camera hanging around his neck awkwardly lowered it and stammered, "I'm sorry! It was just such a beautiful scene, I thought it would be a shame not to capture it! I just... subconsciously...!"
The young man was a newspaper reporter. He had come here to interview the circus ringmaster after the show. He wasn't really interested in the circus, but because he was a rookie, he hadn't been able to refuse the assignment. It was only after seeing the clown's performance that he had felt a spark of interest, which is why he was at the back of the line.
Just as he had said, he had simply been captivated by the beauty of the scene and had acted on his journalistic instincts.
"I don't believe you! You look like a creep! You were after my Yu, weren't you, you lolicon!" Mrs. Sakihara didn't believe a word he said. She rolled up her sleeves and stormed toward him.
"Ma'am, I'm telling the truth!" he explained frantically, but it did nothing to quell her rage. The other audience members were also angry at the young man and made no move to stop her, just watching the scene with cold indifference.
The young man knew he was in the wrong. He covered his face and closed his eyes, preparing to accept his punishment. Just as Mrs. Sakihara was about to throw a punch, Yu's voice rang out.
"Mom, don't! Let's just let it go." Yu pulled on her mother's sleeve and smiled at the young man. "I don't think this big brother meant to do it. I believe him."
The young man heard her words and opened his eyes. Seeing Yu's healing smile, his heart suddenly seemed to melt.
This girl isn't just as beautiful as a princess; her heart is just as pure! No wonder the fireflies were drawn to her! She's the embodiment of a princess!
Completely disregarding his own pride, the young man suddenly dropped to the ground in a dogeza, pressing his forehead to the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Ma'am! I am truly sorry! I didn't mean it!"
He wasn't begging for Mrs. Sakihara's forgiveness; he was offering his fealty to his princess.
"...Tch. Fine. I'll let you off this time." Seeing his sincere apology, Mrs. Sakihara finally lowered her fist. She took Yu's hand and turned to leave. "Come on, Yu. The show is about to start."
Hearing this, the other people in the crowd seemed to realize something and also hurried on.
All that was left was the young man, still kneeling on the ground, his body trembling.
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