Chapter 5 — The Crowd and the Watchers
At the very same time Jack was performing in Shining City Park—
two men stood quietly on the rooftop of a nearby building.
Both wore leather jackets, caps pulled low over their heads, dark sunglasses, and military-style dog tags hanging from their necks. From their elevated position, they were observing a rented apartment several floors below.
Their posture was relaxed.
But their eyes were not.
Suddenly, one of their phones vibrated.
The man glanced at the screen and spoke without turning his head.
“Keep watching. I’ll answer this call.”
“Understood.”
He stepped aside and answered.
“Confirmed?”
A brief silence followed.
“…Understood. Observe only.”
Another pause.
“If he escalates, eliminate.”
“…Yes. Fine.”
The call ended.
The other man looked at him.
“Who was that? A new mission?”
The captain shook his head calmly.
“No.”
“It was your junior.”
The subordinate raised an eyebrow.
“Wasn’t he supposed to be on vacation?”
“Seems like he discovered someone suspected of being an Awakener while he was on leave.”
Before the conversation could continue, the man watching the apartment spoke again.
“Captain.”
“The target is coming out.”
“Should we move?”
The captain laughed softly.
“Hahaha… finally.”
“I was getting bored with this little spying game.”
He walked toward the edge of the rooftop.
Each step he took left a faint change behind.
The tar along the rooftop softened slightly beneath his boots.
The air around him shimmered with unnatural heat.
The captain lifted his gaze toward the distant park.
Even from here, faint laughter drifted through the wind.
He scoffed.
“Clowns draw crowds.”
“Villains draw us.”
Near the fountain in Shining City Park, the crowd had grown significantly larger.
“Are those throwing knives?”
“Is he really going to do a knife act?”
“Alright, I need to record this properly.”
“I missed the card trick earlier… I still don’t know how he did it.”
“Honestly, I’m still not sure if that was just a trick or real magic.”
At the center of the crowd stood Jack.
From his inventory space, he pulled out a set of throwing knives.
To the audience, it looked like a natural continuation of the show.
“As a warm-up,” Jack announced calmly, “how about some knife juggling?”
He tossed the first knife.
Then the second.
Soon—
three blades spun through the air.
Then four.
Jack started slowly, letting the knives rise and fall in smooth arcs. Gradually the rhythm accelerated until the blades became flashing streaks of steel dancing above his hands.
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While performing, he spoke casually.
“Don’t try this at home.”
“This act is performed by a professional.”
A spectator muttered from the crowd,
“Relax. I wouldn’t try that even if someone paid me.”
Another laughed.
“I might… if the money was enough.”
The crowd chuckled, their amazement growing with every second the knives stayed airborne.
[Congratulations! Host has gained 200 Points from your performance.]
Jack dismissed the system notification with a flick of his thoughts.
Behind the jester mask, his eyes sharpened.
Now came the real act.
“Alright,” he said smoothly.
“Let’s end the juggling…”
“And begin the main performance.”
With a clean motion, he caught every knife.
The crowd burst into excited chatter.
“That juggling was insane.”
“Did you see how fast he was?”
“Yeah. I almost panicked when he added more knives.”
Hearing the praise, Jack smiled beneath his mask.
“Before we continue…”
He gestured toward a large tree standing beside the fountain.
“Let’s move closer to that tree over there.”
“I’ll use it as my target board.”
The audience followed him eagerly.
Soon they gathered beside the thick trunk of the old tree.
Jack turned back toward them.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen…”
“Does anyone want to volunteer?”
The moment he said that—
several people looked away.
Others took a small step backward.
No one wanted to stand near flying knives.
Jack chuckled softly.
“Why the hesitation?”
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m extremely skilled at this.”
Even so, the crowd remained uncertain.
Jack shrugged.
“How about this instead?”
“Does anyone have fruit?”
“Apples, oranges… anything will do.”
Hands immediately rose from the audience.
“Mr. Grim Mirth, I have apples!”
“I do too!”
“Same here!”
Even fruit sellers from nearby stalls offered their produce.
Jack nodded politely.
“May I use them as props?”
“If you’d rather not, that’s completely fine.”
One man laughed loudly.
“Of course! We’re watching for free anyway.”
“Consider it payment for your performance.”
“Thank you,” Jack replied.
He lifted a hand toward the volunteers.
“Now…”
“Who wants to be the volunteer to throw the fruit?”
“You only need to toss them from left to right between me and the tree.”
“Before you even realize it…”
“They’ll already be pinned to the tree by my knives.”
Excitement replaced the earlier hesitation.
People murmured eagerly.
Finally, a man in his thirties stepped forward.
Jack bowed slightly.
“Thank you for accepting.”
“May I know your name?”
The man smiled warmly.
“Hello, Mr. Grim Mirth. My name is George.”
“Very well, Mr. George.”
Jack raised a knife.
“Throw them one by one.”
“And when I say ‘faster’…”
“Throw faster.”
“Let’s see if I can land a perfect combo.”
George nodded.
“Yes, sir. Here we go!”
He tossed the first apple.
Swish!
A knife flashed forward like lightning, piercing the fruit midair and pinning it to the tree trunk behind.
The crowd gasped.
As the act continued, the atmosphere around the fountain began to change.
At first only a few bystanders slowed their steps.
“Is that the clown from earlier?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“I heard his first trick was amazing.”
People walking past began stopping.
Phones appeared.
“Wait, don’t start yet. I want to record this.”
Another voice from behind asked,
“What did I miss?”
“The knife juggling. You’re late.”
More people approached from nearby pathways.
Families.
Teenagers.
Curious strangers.
The circle around Jack expanded—
then tightened again as more spectators squeezed closer.
“Move a little.”
“I can’t see.”
“Lift your phone higher!”
The murmurs blended together.
What had begun as a small audience was quickly turning into a crowd.
Shoulder to shoulder.
Closer.
Denser.
Like a tide quietly rising.
Meanwhile, the performance continued.
George threw the second apple.
Then the third.
“Faster,” Jack commanded.
George obeyed.
The throws became quicker.
Swish!
Tak!
Swish!
Tak!
Swi—tak!
Jack’s concentration sharpened.
Every motion of his arm was precise.
Every knife struck true.
Not every apple was pinned perfectly.
But none were missed.
To the audience, he no longer looked like a clown.
He looked like something else entirely.
“Why does he look more like a ninja than a jester?”
“Yeah… honestly, I agree.”
George shouted,
“This is the last one!”
He hurled the final apple.
But perhaps because of fatigue—
Jack’s final knife missed the fruit.
Instead, it buried itself deep into the tree trunk.
Jack felt his hands trembling slightly.
His vision blurred for a moment.
That last throw had drained more than his stamina.
“Hah…”
He exhaled slowly.
“Seems like I couldn’t do it perfectly.”
The crowd erupted anyway.
“OHHHHH!”
Applause thundered through the park.
Even without perfection, the excitement of the audience surged toward him like warm energy.
George walked over, clapping enthusiastically.
“Wow, that was incredible.”
“How can you throw like that?”
Jack laughed.
“Hahaha… training is everything.”
Then George leaned slightly closer and whispered quietly.
“You’re not ordinary.”
“And people like you don’t stay unnoticed for long.”
“If you ever want to understand what’s really happening in this city…”
“Find me.”
George straightened immediately afterward, his friendly smile returning.
Elsewhere in the park, an elderly man sat quietly on a bench.
The noise from the growing crowd disturbed his rest.
With a frown, he took out his phone.
“Hello, police?”
“I’d like to report a disturbance.”
“At Shining City Park, there’s a crowd causing chaos and disrupting public order.”
After finishing the call, the old man left the park, muttering to himself about how noisy everything had become.
[Congratulations! Host has gained 400 Points from your performance.]
Jack blinked.
“…Only 400?”
He frowned.
“Why so little?”
“There were more people.”
“And they were clearly excited.”
A thought crossed his mind.
“Is quality better than quantity…”
“Or are there other factors?”
The system gave no response.
Jack sighed.
“I’ll have to figure it out slowly.”
He was still accepting praise and posing for photos when a distant siren suddenly echoed outside the park.
The crowd froze.
“Why is there a police siren?”
“Are they coming for Grim Mirth?”
“But why would they?”
“Isn’t he just entertaining people?”
Jack heard it too.
His chest tightened.
He had not been invited here.
This was technically an illegal street performance.
Trouble was the last thing he wanted.
“I should leave…”
He hesitated.
“But maybe…”
“One last quick act?”
Before he could decide—
four uniformed officers were already approaching through the park.
Jack’s face darkened.
“Damn it.”
“One more show and I could’ve bought a Talent.”
“Fuck.”
“Who reported me?”
“If I find out…”
He cleared his throat loudly.
“Ahem.”
“Sorry, everyone.”
“It seems it’s time for me to go.”
“Perhaps we’ll meet again.”
“Bye.”
Then—
Jack ran.
The bells on his costume rang wildly as he disappeared into the park paths.
The crowd quickly scattered as well, unwilling to become involved with the police.
But among the remaining onlookers—
one person did not leave.
He simply watched the direction Jack had fled.
He didn’t move to chase.
He didn’t hurry.
He calmly slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Hah…”
He sighed quietly.
“It seems this city is only going to get noisier.”
