The Freak Show Foreman

It wasn’t because of their appearance.

Unlike the people in this world who might find them intimidating, their looks didn’t bother me much.

Womon was a muscular and charismatic Giant character often seen in games and movies.

Sven, although a symbol of terror for people in the past, was amusing to watch move around, considering the widespread usage of skeletons in the modern era.

The disabilities that Yurakne, Triamere, and Bendict had reminded me of friends I had in the orphanage in the past, making them feel familiar. Even the dwarf Jobel was just a person with short stature, a common sight in every neighborhood.

The reason I found it hard to face them was not because of their appearance but because of their actions portrayed in the games.

Womon was a cannibal who would hang people on hooks and cook them, Sven was a madman who hunted people, skinned them, and wore their leather like clothes, and Yurakne was a supernatural being who would tie up men and extract bodily fluids from them.

Monsters who could potentially rip my throat apart if I showed any weakness.

I kept my guard up, thinking like that.

Of course, such suspicions didn’t last long.

They were only similar to the bosses of TT1 in appearance; I soon realized they were ordinary individuals with many wounds inside.

Some took longer to adapt due to their appearances.

They were the Rat Men, who worked as laborers in the circus.

As their name suggests, they were a race with the appearance of rats.

Rats were symbols of uncleanliness and disgust alongside cockroaches for modern people.

My perception of them was not much different from ordinary people.

When I saw their stiff fur, twitching whiskers, wriggling nose, and pink, wrinkled front paws, curses unintentionally escaped me. If there hadn’t been a laughing man, I might have wet myself the moment I faced them.

But the people here didn’t find Rat Men as repulsive as I did.

People might look at them as lacking in some way or like dirty colored people, but they didn’t see them as monsters.

It was a very strange thing.

Emotionally, it didn’t resonate, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand.

Whether something is a monster or not ultimately depends on the ’familiarity.’

If a dinosaur or a three-legged insect-like creature appeared in reality, we wouldn’t treat it as a monster.

However, creatures like a six-legged cat or a snake with eight arms or a human-sized cockroach would be treated as ’monsters.’

The psychological aversion to calling something a monster or recoiling from it came from the strangeness beyond familiarity.

The difference in perspective between the members and the Rat Men in this place could also be understood in that way.

In two months, I also became somewhat accustomed to the Rat Men.

They didn’t seem as grotesque as before.

Surprisingly, they didn’t fear me as they did before.

Rat Men were a race with an innate sense of reading cues and atmosphere.

They instinctively felt that I was no longer a threatening presence.

Now, confidently walking past me was a routine sight.

There was even a time when they gathered under the balcony of my bedroom at dawn, roasting and eating a sparrow they had caught somewhere while singing.

Not long ago, a child took money from me, claiming he needed it to buy medicine for a sick sibling. Later, I found him sprawled in a corner of the yard, intoxicated by marijuana.

At such times, it was both amusing and somehow damaging to my pride. Am I perceived as more approachable than the former Wonderstein?

I observed unexpected behaviors similar to what I mentioned earlier, where they would roll their eyes, watch my expression, or flick their beards, trying to gauge the atmosphere, like humans do.

The societal prejudice of the "cunning and treacherous species" didn’t seem entirely baseless.

Their behavior was repulsive.

There was a reason why Wonderstein regularly summoned them to instill fear.

When they only showed a sly grin, they truly looked down on people.

But I couldn’t do that.

In the relatively smooth relationship with the members, I didn’t want to step forward and create an atmosphere of fear.

Anyway, I had a capable deputy.

The most approachable target for the rat-men was Womon, the youngest.

Despite his fierce appearance and the terrifying nickname of a vampire, his inner self was very innocent and gentle.

The rat-men noticed that and would slyly steal his food, pretend to stab his cooking utensils with materials they carried, and engage in teasing.

From Womon’s perspective, it was nothing, and he just laughed it off. However, Ella didn’t ignore it.

Whenever the rat-men crossed the line, she would step forward with a whip.

Then, they would immediately lower their heads, bend their waists, and act pitiful, claiming, "Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Humans! If you hit us, we cry!"

"Babies cry too! Moms and dads! Please don’t hit us! We cry!"

"Whip whip! Human society! Scary! Rat-men! Miserable!"

Rat-men with tearful eyes and pitiful expressions.

When Womon, who used to be tormented, stepped forward to stop Ella, they would cry miserably.

Of course, false tears didn’t work in front of her.

Whenever they did that, she would coldly wield the whip at them.

The first time I witnessed that scene, I was so shocked that I unintentionally screamed inside.

Seeing Ella, who had always been calm, desperately making others begging was a first.

Of course, after experiencing their nature firsthand, I secretly gave her a thumbs up whenever she wielded the whip.

I learned that she intentionally portrayed coldness and strictness for educational purposes.

By watching her handle them, it was clear why her occupation was a "beast tamer."

Thanks to her, the rat-men followed her orders obediently, and she always took care of dealing with them.

Today’s guest reception training was the same.

She called the rat-men to the garden and taught them how to welcome guests, serve food, and respond to requests.

Ella adjusted her collar, folded her hands in front of her belly, and politely bowed before saying, "Welcome to Wonderstein Circus!"

"Wonder Circus! Welcome!"

If she demonstrated first, the rat-men would imitate, chanting, "What would you like to order?"

"Order! Say it!"

However, despite watching for a while, it didn’t seem like there was much progress in their practice.

The rat-men found it challenging to string words together to form long sentences.

"What would you like to order?"

"Order! Say it!"

However, after more than 30 minutes of trying to train them, Ella eventually gave up.

"Alright, let’s stop."

They straightened their back in response to her words.

"Alright!"

"Boss! Demands! Too difficult!"

"Our way! Convenient!"

Ella tilted her head as if puzzled.

"Fine. Do as you wish. After all, guests won’t expect much from the rat men employees."

The rat men shouted with joy as they rushed out of the garden.

From the sounds of their chatter, it seemed like they were heading to the back garden of the hotel, perhaps to gather honey from a beehive they found there.

Ella watched their backs as she murmured to herself.

"Those rascals."

"Weren’t the demands too much for the rat men?"

In response to my question, she chuckled as if saying it wasn’t a big deal.

"They’re just bluffing. Both the lines and the actions were a mess. They don’t have any obligation. They just navigate between profit and balance. This time, it’s their move, thinking this place is their territory."

Ella adjusted the whip on her waist.

It was called a beast-taming whip, but I had never seen her use it on any animals other than the rat men.

"Oh, right. What about the discussion with Lady Vergsong?"

"I couldn’t talk to her. She went to another region early in the morning. She is quite busy these days handling post-trial matters."

"Is that so? Well, then we don’t have much to do right now. Let’s take it easy since there’s still three weeks left. Want to watch the members’ practice together?"

"Sure."

Just a week ago, I couldn’t have imagined wandering around their practice.

I always had to step back if the members were uncomfortable.

However, after the trial, the members didn’t seem as uncomfortable sharing the same space with me anymore.

"When juggling two skulls, the speed keeps mismatching because the other white ball and the skulls have different weights. What should I do?"

"Well, in that case, focus on reflexively snapping only when you throw the skulls…."

As soon as she heard the difficult part the members were struggling with, Ella immediately provided a solution.

"Should I keep applying pine pollen powder to my hands?"

"Sis, you can use both arms alternately. People won’t notice what the other hand is doing during the performance."

She accurately grasped the physical characteristics of the members and provided appropriate advice.

"Womon, your crying sounds are the scariest when you’re scared. So when you’re doing an angry scene, think of something frightening."

"Like this? Kwaah!"

"…Nggh, give it some time and scream. Alright!"

She used her knowledge to address issues that I wouldn’t have known about without observing the members closely.

I couldn’t help but admire her skills as I followed her around.

Maya was redrawing the sign at Ella’s request.

Pointing to the spot next to me where I was standing, Ella said,

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"Move me there."

Maya, after hearing her request, glanced at her with a slightly displeased look, then followed her request and drew the picture.

Thus, the entire group focused on final practice.

Every day, there were slight adjustments to posture, movements, acting, and drawings.

Five days passed quickly.

Under the completed sign.

Ella gathered all the members and turned around, smiling confidently.

"25%."

The first week of the test had begun.