Chapter 29 competition rules

1887-1889 Now that the circus is up and running and self-sufficient (Chandresh said at the dinner shortly after opening night), circus dinners are less frequent.The original conceivables still get together for dinner on occasion, especially when a circus is nearby, but these occasions are becoming rarer. A． Mr. H︱ did not show up despite being a long-standing invitee. These gatherings are the only opportunities Marco gets to see his mentor, whose constant absence frustrates him. For a year, the other party did not send any secret signal, nor sent a single word, and even his gray top hat was hard to take a look at, so Marco decided to take the initiative to visit him.

He didn't know where the mentor's current residence was.He guessed right, the mentor might be living in a temporary place, and by the time he tracked down the correct location, the other person might have already moved to another temporary residence. So Marco went to the window of the apartment facing the street and carved a series of symbols in the frost, using the colonnade of the museum ahead as a guide.The symbols are mostly illegible unless the light hits them at a precise angle, but the shape that collectively spells out is the big A. The next day, there was a knock on the door.

As always, the man in gray refused to set foot in the apartment.He just stood in the corridor, staring at Marco with calm gray eyes. what do you want?he asks. I wonder if my performance is ok?Marco said. The instructor glanced at him for a moment, his expression as unpredictable as usual. Your work is pretty full.He said. Is this how this challenge works?Marco asks: Do we each control the circus?How long will it last? You've got the field in which to play, says the instructor: Show your skills to the best of your ability, and so will your opponent.You don't interfere with each other's work, and you don't interfere with each other's work.It should continue in this way until someone wins, the situation is not that complicated.

I'm not sure I understand the rules.Marco said. You don't need to understand the rules, you just need to follow them.Like I said, your work is pretty full.He started to leave, but hesitated slightly. Don't do that again.he said, pointing over Marco's shoulder to the frosted window. Then he turned and walked away. The symbols on the windows melt into meaningless trickles. At noon, the circus was sleeping quietly, but Celia.Bowen stood in front of the merry-go-round, watching the dark, white, and silvery creatures file by, suspended from coordinated ropes, unmanned. I don't like these things.said the voice behind her.

In the dim lighting of the tent, HectorBowen is just a ghost, the dark suit disappearing into the shadows.He looked at the carousel over his daughter's shoulder, and kept moving the light to catch and release the brightness of his shirt, the grayness of his hair, and his expression of disapproval. Why don't you like it?Celia responded without turning around, but it was a hit, and it took a lot of work; should be good enough to get a note, Dad. His sarcasm and sneer were only echoes of the past. Celia couldn't help but smile when she heard the voice so softly. Fortunately, he didn't let him see it, and she was greatly relieved.

You didn't dare to be so presumptuous at first, if it weren't for me, he became more and more powerless, and waved a transparent hand beside her arm. Don't blame me for that incident, Celia said: You are the one who caused it, you are unable to undo it yourself, it is not my fault, and I did not do anything presumptuous at all. How much did you reveal to your architect?her father asked. I only told him what he should know.Celia said.He floated past her, moving over to the carousel for a closer look.He likes to challenge the limit very much, and I took the initiative to help him go further.Is Mr. Barris my match?Then he is really cunning, in order to avoid suspicion, he even built a merry-go-round for me.

He is not your opponent.With a dismissive gesture, the lace cuffs of his shirt fluttered like moths, Hector said.But this kind of thing will be regarded as cheating. Why is it overstepping the boundaries of the site when you get an engineer to execute the idea, Dad?I discussed it with him, he handles the design and build, and I do the finishing touches.Do you want to ride and see?Its ability is more than simply turning in circles. See also know.said Hector, looking down into the dark tunnel into which the line of creatures had cloaked.I still don't like it. Celia sighed, walked to the carousel, and patted the head of the oversized black crow as it flew by.

There are already countless elements in this circus that work together. She said: Why can't I take advantage of the trend to add points for myself?You have always insisted that in addition to acting, I must perform more, but I must first create opportunities before I can perform further.Mr. Barris was very helpful in that regard. Cooperating with other people will only drag yourself down.These people are not your friends, they are nothing.One of them is still your opponent, don't forget. You know who it is, right?Celia asked. I doubted it. But you won't tell me your doubts? It doesn't matter what your opponent is.

it's very important to me. Hector frowned, watching her casually playing with the ring on her right hand. You shouldn't think so.He said. But the opponent knows who I am, right? Yes, unless your opponent happens to be extremely dull.It was not Alexander's style to pick a student who was extremely dull.But that's okay too.You'd better get on with your job without being influenced by your opponent, and stop doing that damn thing you call teamwork. He waved to the merry-go-round, and the ropes trembled, as if a very gentle breeze had just swayed into the tent. How could it be better?Celia asks: How is something here better than something else?How does one tent stack up against another?How is it possible to judge whether these things win or lose?

That's none of your business. How am I going to come out on top in this contest if you won't tell me the rules? The creatures hanging in mid-air turned their heads and looked towards the ghost standing between them. The griffin, fox and flying dragon stared at him with bright and smooth black eyes. stop.Hector snapped at his daughter.The creatures resumed their staring postures again, and only after one of the wolves howled loudly did they return to their frozen stares.You are not taking this matter seriously enough. It's a circus, Celia said: it's not easy to be serious.

A circus is just a venue. Then it's not a competition or a challenge, it's an exhibition. not only. How to say?Celia insisted on finding out, but her father just shook his head. I've told you all the rules you need to know.You regard the circus as an exhibition venue, constantly challenging the limits of your skills, and you want to prove that you are better and stronger than the other party.You're just going to do everything you can to put your opponents to shame. When will you decide which of us is better? I'm not trying to judge anything, Hector said: stop questioning, work harder, stop working together. Before she could respond, he disappeared, leaving her alone in the flickering light cast by the carousel. At first, Marco often received letters from Isobe.But as the circus moved to distant cities and countries, periods of silence sometimes stretched on for weeks, or even months, between letters and letters. When a letter finally arrived, he tore open the envelope without even taking off his coat. He skimmed through the first few pages, which were full of polite inquiries about his life in London, and heartfelt words about how she missed the city and him. She dutifully reported on what was going on at the circus, but her down-to-earth precision prevented him from getting the rich detail he craved to picture the scene in his mind.Things she thought were mundane, she just sketched them in two or three strokes, like journeys and trains, but Marco was pretty sure they couldn't have moved by trains alone. Despite the tenuous connection through paper and ink, the distance of the circus feels more distinct. There is very little news about her. Isobe didn't even write her name on the letter paper, but only mentioned it as an illusionist in passing. This precautionary measure was originally proposed by him, but now he regrets it. He wants to know everything about her. Wondering how she spends her time when she's not performing. I wonder how she interacts with the audience. Wondering how she drinks her tea. He didn't have the courage to ask Isobe about these things. When he wrote back to her, he begged her to keep writing, as often as possible.He emphasized how much her letter meant to him. There was her handwriting on the stationery, descriptions of the striped tent and the starry sky; he took the stationery, folded it into birds, and let them fly around the empty apartment. Celia rarely considers canceling her show entirely when a new tent appears, and spends the night investigating and exploring. Instead, she waits quietly, performing a regular schedule of shows as usual, finishing the last show a few hours before dawn.Only then would she wander the less-traveled passages to find the new sheds in the circus. The sign declares that this place is called the Ice Garden, because it may cause inconvenience to the audience in keeping warm, and an apology statement is added below, which makes Celia smile. Despite her name, she was unprepared for what awaited her in the tent. As the label describes, but much more than that. There are no stripes on the walls, everything is shining and white as far as the eye can see.She couldn't tell how far it stretched, the continuous willows and twisted vines concealed the size of the tent. The air itself was magical, and she breathed it into her lungs, fresh and sweet, and a shudder ran down to her toes, not just the sudden drop in temperature that she had been warned about. There were no other guests in the shed as she explored.She wandered alone among the trellis covered with pale roses, and the softly bubbling, delicately carved fountain. Everything was made of ice, save for the occasional garland-like lengths of white silk ribbons that hung down. Out of curiosity, Celia plucked a frost-covered peony flower from a branch, and the stem broke easily. But the layers of petals shattered and fell from her fingers, disappearing among the ivory grass leaves below. When she looked back at the branch, the same flower appeared again. Celia couldn't imagine how much strength and skill it would take to build this thing and at the same time be responsible for its maintenance. She longed to know how her opponent came up with the idea.She realized that the structural perfection of the moldings, down to the pearly stones that flanked the path, had been carefully thought out, and every detail must have been carefully planned. It must be very exhausting to make something like this, she was exhausted just thinking about it.She almost wished her father was there, because she was beginning to understand why he had insisted on her increasing her power and control in the first place. Though she wasn't sure if she wanted to thank him for that. She likes to have this space alone, and the soft aroma of frozen flowers sweetens the stillness and tranquility of the garden. The morning sun rose outside, and the gate was closed during the day, and Celia was still lingering in the ice garden for a long time. After many days, the circus arrived near London for the first time, and in the afternoon before the opening, there was a knock on the door of Marco's apartment. When he found Isobe in the corridor, he only opened the door halfway and fixed it in place. You changed the lock.she says. Why didn't you notify me first when you were coming?Marco asked. I thought you'd like the surprise.Isobe said. Marco would not let her into the apartment, but left her to wait on the porch for a while, then came back with a bowler hat. That afternoon was cold but bright, and he took her to have afternoon tea. what is that?As the two walked side by side, Marco asked as he glanced down at Isobe's wrist. nothing.she said, pulling her cuffs down to block his glance at the bracelet.The bracelet was made by her carefully interweaving her own and his hair. He stopped asking. Although Isobe never took off the bracelet, when he returned to the circus at night, the bracelet had already disappeared.Disappeared from her skin, as if it had never existed.