"Meow!~へ~"
With a face full of reluctance, Lilith leapt up, grabbed the rope, and swiftly climbed to the top, disappearing into the mist.
The crowd grew even more curious.
Suddenly, handfuls of gold coins rained down from the mist, clinking as they landed on the stage, gleaming with a dazzling golden light.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
Before long, the stage was covered with a thick layer of gold coins. The spectators closest to the stage stared at the pile, their faces flushed with excitement, itching to rush forward and snatch them up.
Edward had deliberately avoided performing the traditional version of the "Indian Rope Trick," where a child climbs up the rope and vanishes, only to later reappear in pieces on the ground. That gruesome imagery was far too unsettling.
But this modified version...seemed to have an even stronger impact on the audience.
Tsk, greedy humans.
Edward quickly grabbed the rope and gave it a sharp tug. As the rope fell, it transformed into a piece of red cloth. He seized the cloth and flicked it toward the audience with a dramatic sweep. A sudden gust of wind blew through, and the gold coins scattered across the stage dissolved into a flurry of playing cards, raining down upon the spectators.
Meanwhile, Lilith, who had vanished into the mist, reappeared on Edward's shoulder.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the audience erupted into thunderous applause.
"Alright, that concludes today's performance. Until next time!"
Edward lightly patted Lilith on the head. She let out a disgruntled meow: (~︿~)
Tipping his hat, he bowed and gracefully exited the stage, leaving behind an audience still immersed in the magic.
Feeling the faintest trace of digestion from his potion, he furrowed his brows in thought:
"The digestion rate is much slower than expected. Did I mix up the roles of 'Trickmaster' and 'Magician'?"
"After all, Trickmaster and Magician are two distinct professions, and their methods of role-playing can't be identical. The essence of a Trickmaster lies in 'performance' and 'deception,' which only partially overlaps with the Magician's role-play rules as summarized by Klein."
"Judging from Fors' experience, playing the role of a Trickmaster is much simpler than that of a Magician. The basic formula seems to be: perform a trick + deceive the audience + receive applause. But I just did exactly that…"
"Deception and applause shouldn't be an issue. So, the problem must lie in the performance itself?"
Edward absentmindedly stroked Lilith's soft fur.
"If we compare tricks and magic in their purest forms, trick performances tend to focus more on sleight of hand, whereas magic acts are broader in scope. Just now, I performed 'The Cup and Balls' and 'The Vanishing Coin'—undoubtedly tricks—but the audience's reaction was lukewarm. That must be why the potion digestion was suboptimal."
"If that's the case, then audience reception plays a crucial role. I wonder…would different qualities of audiences yield different effects?"
Edward rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
During his ten days in the Harry Potter world, he had also attempted to play the role of a Trickmaster. But in a school full of young witches and wizards, that was clearly a bad idea.
In the Muggle world, a mere ten-minute performance at an amusement park had been enough to summon a squad of Aurors.
Sure, he had the Trickmaster's Beyonder abilities, even without using magic, but he first needed to familiarize himself with and develop suitable 'acts'.
By the time he got the hang of it, it was already time for another traversal.
———
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
A flamboyant man enthusiastically approached, shaking Edward's right hand vigorously.
"I'm Evans, the ringmaster of the Blair Circus. If it weren't for you, I fear the angry audience might have wrecked the place!"
"It was nothing," Edward replied with a smile. "I only stepped in because I was worried things might spiral out of control."
Casually, he added, "By the way, what happened to that…Miss Christine? Why did she suddenly disappear?"
Ringmaster Evans sighed in distress.
"I have no idea. She only joined us recently. Our circus usually doesn't host large stage performances—everyone just performs in their own little space and attracts their own crowd. If she hadn't insisted, I wouldn't have…" He trailed off with another sigh. "Well, there's no point dwelling on it now."
Edward asked curiously, "Why did she insist on holding a stage performance?"
"Because she could earn a lot of money in a short amount of time."
"Uh…"
That answer caught Edward off guard.
"Um…" Ringmaster Evans hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sir, Mister Magician—"
"Edward," he corrected. "I'm a Trickmaster."
Evans quickly nodded. "Mister Edward, would you be willing to perform with our circus? We may be a travelling troupe, but our monthly income is quite decent."
Edward shrugged. "I have no intention of leaving Tingen. Besides, Miss Christine might return soon."
"Then how about just for the half-month we're stationed in Tingen?" Evans suggested immediately. He wiped the sweat from his brow and added in exasperation, "Even if Christine comes back, I don't dare hire her again."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot."
Evans extended a hand. "Welcome aboard!"
"The pleasure is mine."
Though the process had been a bit unexpected, at least he had achieved his goal of joining the circus.
For the next half-month, Edward would perform here for two to three hours a day.
———
Back home, Edward retrieved the piece of firewood he had selected the day before and placed it by the fireplace. Then, he waved his wand:
"Portus."
A flash of blue light enveloped the ordinary firewood, transforming it into a Portkey linking Backlund and Tingen.
He reached out and tapped it.
Instantly, he felt an invisible hook yank him forward from behind his navel with an irresistible force. A deafening rush of wind filled his ears, and his vision blurred.
Thud!
Edward crashed face-first onto the floor.
Grimacing, he pushed himself up, only to find himself inside the one-bedroom apartment he had rented in Backlund.
"Huff…Using a Portkey is way worse than Apparition."
Taking a deep breath, he reached for the firewood again.
Another gut-wrenching tug. Another dizzying swirl of motion.
Thud!
He landed on his back, sprawled out on the floor of his Tingen home.
"I hate Portkeys!"
"Meow? ≡ω≡"
Lilith trotted over in tiny steps and launched a surprise attack.
Edward quickly rolled over and pinned her down, both hands tickling her fluffy belly.
"Trying to ambush me, huh? Take this!"
Lilith squirmed, baring her tiny fangs. "Mrrrow! (╯‵□′)╯"
Suddenly, Edward felt an odd tickling sensation at his waist.
He glanced down—five slender, fair fingers were reaching out from inside his pouch, scratching at him.
"Holy—!"
The sight was downright bizarre.
Panicked, he tossed the pouch aside.
Lilith, just as startled, bolted and dove under the couch.
"Edward, lend me a hand."
Audrey's voice came from inside the pouch.
"…Audrey?'"
A moment later, Audrey stepped out of the pouch and glanced around. "So this is where you live in Tingen? Not bad at all."
Edward frowned. "How did you come out of there?"
"Testing the Vanishing Cabinet, of course!" Audrey grinned and handed him a newspaper. "And I also brought you today's Backlund Morning Post. The advertisement you mentioned about Ernst Firm purchasing goods is in there."
"Oh?"
Edward took the newspaper and flipped to the fifth page, where he found the ad: Honey, 9 pence per litre; Flour, 3 soli per pound; Butter, 3 pence per pound; Cream tea leaves, 1 soli 9 pence per pound…
This meant there would be a Beyonder gathering tomorrow night at 8 p.m. near the Bravehearts Bar. The entrance signal was a series of knocks—nine heavy, three light knocks, followed by a long-short-long-short interval, then another nine taps with no particular pattern.
"Thanks for this."
Audrey walked over to the window, gazing at the street below. "Hmm…This is my first time leaving Backlund on my own. I must say, anywhere feels more comfortable than Backlund."
The warm sunlight bathed her, adding a touch of laziness to her posture.
Edward stood beside her. "Didn't you just return yesterday? You're already tired of Backlund life?"
She shook her head with a smile. "Not exactly…It's just that after getting used to the liveliness and freedom at Hogwarts, this feels a bit suffocating."
"Ah, so basically, you've gotten a taste of freedom and can't go back~."
"And whose fault do you think that is?"
Audrey lifted her chin slightly, feigning indignation. "If you hadn't dragged me to Hogwarts, I'd still be a refined and dignified noble lady!"
"Oh, my sincerest apologies then."
"Hee-hee."
She stuck out her tongue playfully. "Just kidding. Anyway, the test was successful, and I've delivered the newspaper. I should head back now."
Audrey didn't press him about why he had suddenly appeared yesterday and taken half of her belongings. She simply walked lightly toward the sofa, lifted the hem of her dress slightly, and smiled.
"Make sure to visit often!"
Edward cast an exasperated glance at Lilith, who was still hiding in the distance. "You ungrateful little thing! I was hoping you'd be strong enough to protect me after taking your potion, but the moment danger came, you ran faster than I did!"
Lilith blinked innocently. "Meow? (ω)"
Shaking his head, Edward picked up the newspaper again, muttering, "Tomorrow night at 8, huh…If I find something I really like, I might not have enough gold pounds…"
This time, he had only taken 500 pounds from Audrey, bringing his total wealth to just over 1,000 pounds. Compared to our poor god Klein, he was still quite well-off, but at a Beyonder gathering, it wasn't much at all.
"If only I could sell some of the extra formulas and materials I have…Oh, right! Since the Goddess is helping me stay hidden, I can also try selling some of Hogwarts' special products."
"And I bought five dolls in total. Maybe I can squeeze some gold out of Emlyn. The coffee beans I got from Dumbledore…perhaps Emlyn's father would be willing to pay a high price for those, too."
Edward clapped his hands. "Alright then, I'll go see Emlyn tomorrow."
Just then, a man's voice came from outside the door. "Hello, we're your neighbours from No. 4."
"Neighbors?"
Edward opened the door, and the first thing he saw was a delicate little cake. Underneath it was a pair of small hands belonging to an adorable little girl dressed in a princess gown. She looked about six or seven years old, with black hair tied into two small pigtails. Her round, rosy cheeks still had a hint of baby fat, and she wore a pendant carved with a feather around her neck.
"For…for you," the little girl said shyly, her brown eyes lowering slightly as she blushed.
"Apologies for the sudden visit," said the man standing behind her. He appeared to be in his early thirties, dressed casually but neatly, with well-groomed hair. Though not particularly handsome, he had an approachable and pleasant demeanour.
"Priscilla heard that we had a new neighbour and insisted on coming to visit," the man explained, extending a hand. "Oh, I'm Steven Green. I run a dental clinic. This is my daughter, Priscilla."
Edward shook his hand. "I'm Edward, a stud—uh, magician."
Then he crouched down and held out a hand toward the little girl. "Hello, Priscilla. Is this cake for me?"
"Yes!"
Priscilla's voice was crisp and clear. "Daddy made it himself. It's delicious!"
"Thank you so much."
Edward shook her tiny hand before reaching behind her ear with a swift motion. When he pulled his hand back, a small flower appeared in his palm. "Here, for you."
"Thank you, big brother!"
Priscilla beamed, holding the flower up high as she turned to her father. "Daddy, Daddy, someone gave me a flower!"
"Yes, yes, that's wonderful," Steven chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Edward, we'll be heading back now. Let's keep in touch."
"Bye-bye, big brother!"
"See you!"
Watching the father and daughter return to their home next door, Edward felt his mood improve even further. He stretched his arms out lazily and gazed up at the clear blue sky.
"A fresh start in a new life…Feels great."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.