The twilight was like an overturned barrel of wine, dyeing the sea a deep purple.
The hum of engines suddenly echoed from all directions, and then, countless speedboats appeared, forming a circle around the ship in the middle of the sea, bobbing on the waves.
Most of the audience who bought tickets to watch tonight's performance sat on these speedboats. The magic-infused telescopes offered them a fairly good viewing experience, though surely, there were even stronger visual thrills.
But that comes at a different price.
However, wealthy Wizards were not few and far between, such as Lucius Malfoy who had just stepped onto the deck.
"...Greengrass?"
Draco, following his father onto the ship, immediately spotted the Slytherin girl from his year in the crowd. Their relationship had been quite good; she was Pansy's friend, both belonged to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, were students of Slytherin House, and both disliked those Mudbloods...
But the relationship sustained only until she joined that... William's support fan club.
That was truly a mad group.
The only club more frenzied than them in Hogwarts was perhaps the Gobstones Club, which liked to let stones spray stinking juice on their faces.
Thinking of William... Draco's eyelids began to twitch. He really wanted to forget that dinner memory, yet... even when he asked his mother afterward, the answers he got were simply, "You're still young," "This isn't something you need to understand," "Go do your homework; your grades are even worse than a Mudblood's—"
The boy still didn't understand why William, clearly just a fifth-year transfer student, appeared at his home, and why his father would kneel on the ground, humbly calling him... "Master?"
He'd never seen his father like this before; even facing Dumbledore, Lucius always maintained a demeanor that was neither humble nor arrogant.
So, this plot was simply unbelievable...
"Malfoy?"
Draco's thoughts, flying to the horizon, were startled awake by a reply, and his floating gaze regained focus.
"...What are you doing here?"
Seeing the boy stare at her stupidly, Daphne furrowed her brow in mild confusion.
"I was just wondering about you..."
Malfoy muttered softly but paused in realization; this member of William's support fan club definitely knew more about the fifth-year Hufflepuff transfer student than he did, perhaps she even knew things others didn't?
After all, he had never figured out at school, why William Richard had a fan club?
Was it just because he looked barely handsome, had tied in a duel with Professor Snape, and become an honorary Professor at the Duel Club?
How did he fall short?
Draco collected his thoughts, looked up to seek his father's opinion.
Guided by reception staff towards his seat, Lucius also caught his son's gaze and frowned, looking over to Mr. Greengrass not far away—Mr. Greengrass, also looking over, showed a hint of disdain and then led his two daughters and wife to the other end of the deck.
As the head of another Pure-Blood Clan, he certainly knew Lucius, but he truly felt some disdain for this former Death Eater.
It's just that he relied on having some money...
...
"...Alright."
Seeing his father shake his head, Draco helplessly lowered his head—actually, with his usual temperament, even if Lucius disagreed, he would have to persist with a few more words, but he knew his father's mood hadn't been good lately, so aggravating him now... that would be...
He could only wait...
"Boom—"
The deck suddenly erupted with a sulfurous roar, and twelve spirals of flame ascended into the sky.
The Beast Tamer, dressed in "blonde, big waves" Western Enchanting Demon style, gently flicked the magic wand in her hand, from which sparks ignited the wires between the masts. In an instant, the outline of the entire ship was engulfed in a deep green ring of fire, encircling the audience in the stands.
The next moment, the green flames converged into a snake, standing proudly on the deck.
This was a little trick; after all, most Pure-Blood Wizards came from Slytherin.
"Come out, sweetheart—"
The Beast Tamer lightly tapped the deck with the whip handle, and the deck cracked open, from which a fearsome beast crawled—having the head of a lion, the body of a ram, and the tail of a Fire Dragon, its terrifying appearance was like a demon climbed from Hell.
The Wizards around watched this entirely close-range performance with utmost tension, some regretting paying extra for their tickets, and some already clutching their magic wands—for bear in mind, no one had ever seen a performance by a Chimaera before, though it's not entirely accurate, as there had been performances.
But... the outcome was rather tragic.
They thought there would be a cage separating the audience from the stage, but it now seemed they were part of the stage.
...Now they just hoped not to become part of the "performance."
"Oh!"
Unlike the deck audience, the calls from the surrounding speedboat audience were only filled with excitement, after all, the sea was a natural "cage," and they'd never heard that fierce beast from Greece could fly.
But the next moment, contrary to everyone's expectations, the Chimaera suddenly stood up, its "ferocious" gaze becoming adorable. It then placed its front paws on the "Enchanting Demon" Beast Tamer's shoulders, and together, they started dancing cha-cha happily.
"...?"
"...Merlin above."
Confirming that the Chimaera wasn't human in disguise, someone suddenly uttered a heartfelt exclamation amid the silence.
The performance continued, challenging people's perceptions at the Starry Sky Circus show, not only with cha-cha dancing Chimaeras but also group-dancing Merpeople, Werewolves transforming without needing a full moon, maintaining their intelligence, and even wearing grass skirts while belly dancing...
...
"...Looks like it's working well."
Watching those interacting with the audience, the Werewolves on the deck, William nodded in satisfaction.
"Indeed, it's your... um, exceptional skill, sir—"
Mundungus quickly added, standing behind him, pondering for a moment, finally coming up with a somewhat appropriate adjective.
"...Don't force compliments if you're out of words."
William sighed, his gaze sweeping over the crowd not far away, noting those who hadn't put away their magic wands, nodding slightly, "So, the fish has bit the bait, did you prepare what I asked..."
"Of course, sir, it has been prepared—"