Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 101: Circus

"We're going too!"
Anna proactively grabbed Naclis and Scarlett's hands. Mirrorheart didn't say anything, as she defaulted to staying by Loren's side.
By the time Loren and the others reached the Royal Capital, it was already quite late. By the time they finished dinner, the crimson moonlight was already hanging in the sky.
No matter how many times Loren saw this moon, he never felt comfortable with it. This moon was indeed abnormal;
being exposed to its light for too long would lead to corruption.
Most people slept at home during the night, so it didn't really affect them much. The ones most affected were animals, especially those long-lived monsters.
The authority over night lay in the hands of the God of Night and Thunder;
only the moon over there was normal.
Luna volunteered to cook dinner, and her skills were indeed quite good, though still not as good as Mirrorheart's. Anna ate a lot during dinner, giving Luna plenty of face.
While Anna was eating, Luna kept smiling as she watched her, as if looking at her own daughter.
...
A circus tent had been erected on the ruins of the theater. The circus tickets were very cheap. This place, which once only nobles could enter, was now crowded with commoners.
"Master Mentor."
The commoners who recognized Loren's identity proactively made space for him. This wasn't about status;
it was because of his reputation.
"Hello, everyone."
Loren also greeted them warmly. Due to the [Scorn of All Beings], their favorability towards Loren increased further. Even if Loren didn't have such a great reputation, their behavior wouldn't have been much different.
Starnight stood obediently on Loren's shoulder, just like a toy.
There were no luxurious things like seats inside the circus tent;
people stood to watch.
"Good evening, audience friends!"
This circus troupe was unusually sparse. Only one clown stood on the stage, with her props beside her, and there weren't many props either.
Only a few braziers on the stage provided illumination, barely enough to see the scene on stage. This scene was eerily silent.
The clown wore a clown costume, and the makeup on her face was also sloppy. Apart from eye makeup and blush, the rest was just white. Her lip makeup was even applied directly with lipstick, a bright red mark stretching to the corners of her mouth.
Beneath mismatched long socks, one red and one blue, were a pair of ridiculous clown shoes. It seemed just standing here exhausted all her strength.
Soon, the first act began. The clown picked up three apples and started juggling them, then stepped onto a unicycle and circled around the stage.
Her actions drew continuous gasps of amazement. From Loren's perspective, this might not be considered much, but everyone watched with great interest, after all, they hadn't seen many performances.
Even Starnight on Loren's shoulder let out joyful chirps, and even Naclis was captivated by the performance.
Only Mirrorheart remained unmoved, still staring at Loren with that borderline-harassment gaze.
The first act ended. The clown stepped off the unicycle and caught the apples. She looked at the apples in her hands, seemingly puzzled as to why there were only two. Then the third one hit her on the head, immediately triggering a burst of laughter inside the circus tent.
The clown seemed quite satisfied with this and began the next performance. She walked towards a large cage in a dark corner, lighting a hoop of fire in front of it.
Just as everyone thought some ferocious beast would emerge from the cage, a small puppy suddenly ran out. The puppy was even smaller than the gaps in the cage.
The clown cracked her whip, pointing at the hoop of fire, signaling the puppy to jump through. Instead, the puppy turned around and bit the clown's leg. In pain, the clown leaped up, directly jumping through the hoop of fire herself.
"Hahaha..."
Laughter erupted from the audience again. Even Loren couldn't help but crack a smile.
Traditional circus acts weren't that interesting, but if you were going to pull crazy stunts, Loren had to watch.
The clown seemed very satisfied with the audience's laughter. She bowed, then shook the puppy off her leg.
"The next act requires an assistant."
The clown extended a finger. The audience's mood was high, and many raised their hands. The clown's finger slid left and right in the air amidst the chorus of "Pick me!" and finally landed on Loren.
Loren neither raised his hand nor shouted, yet the clown still chose him.
Suddenly, Loren's Intuition sent a warning. This clown was not a normal person.
"Hold Starnight for me."
Loren picked up Starnight and placed it in Mirrorheart's hands. After confirming the bomb at his waist was still there, Loren stepped onto the stage.
Since she could pick Loren, it meant her target was Loren. Rather than avoiding it, he might as well see what kind of trouble she was planning to stir up.
The clown put on a box-like contraption. The box was divided into upper and lower sections. Loren guessed this was a prop for a sawing-a-person-in-half magic trick.
"Please cut through from here."
The clown pointed at the gap in the middle of the box, indicating for Loren to pick up the knife on the side and cut.
Loren suppressed the urge to draw Requiem and give her a Throat-Severing Slash. Following her instructions, he picked up the knife and began cutting.
"Huh?"
As the knife cut through the gap, Loren felt something. This was the same sensation he felt when cutting people normally.
Loren looked at the clown. Her expression hadn't changed, but Loren saw her makeup clearly.
"!"
Beneath the clown's lipstick, her face was genuinely cut with a knife, sliced to the corners of her mouth, then covered up with lipstick.
At that moment, the clown suddenly pressed the knife down. The knife cut all the way through. The audience collectively gasped.
Loren hadn't invested many points in Strength, but his Strength was still at ten points, far exceeding an ordinary person's. Yet now, the clown had pressed down like this while he was completely unprepared.
Amidst the audience's exclamations of surprise, the clown walked forward, but her legs walked in the opposite direction. Only when she fell to the ground did she realize what had happened, hurriedly hopping back to find her legs.
This scene might be hilarious in a cartoon, but this was reality. This bizarre scene made many in the audience feel uncomfortable, and they began leaving the place. They didn't have the idea of risking danger to watch the excitement. Being able to perform such an act meant she definitely wasn't a normal person.
Only some who hadn't realized what was happening remained in place, giggling foolishly, including Scarlett.
"How did she do that? So amazing."
"Simple. Because she's an Outer God believer."
"What?"
Mirrorheart's words caused an uproar. Laila, who had been holding her gun all along, immediately intended to rush up and deal with that clown. Then she saw Loren signaling her not to act rashly.
Loren wasn't confident about this unknown situation either. He didn't plan to let the children face any danger.
The clown finally managed to grab her lower half back, only to discover that many people had left the circus tent.
"Huh? Why did they all leave? I still have acts to perform..."
Seeing people leaving, the clown immediately grew anxious. She pulled out a sword and swallowed it directly. When she looked at the remaining people, she only saw terror on their faces.
Because the sword had pierced through her stomach.