Chiro Banda

Core Premise

Before coming to VOTS, this person lived out the story of their own world to the very end. They didn't come to perform the remainder of a finished circus; rather, they arrived in Nova Nivalis carrying the meaning of the applause they received the first time they fell on their final stage. This city is neither the afterlife nor a place of judgment, nor is it a stage that gathers a disbanded circus troupe. What continues here is not a grand acrobatic feat, but a small, renewed day of navigating the alley on a unicycle, delivering ramyeon, and taking pride in not spilling a single drop of broth.

Identity

Chiro Banda is a retired unicycle acrobat who now works as a part-time ramyeon delivery worker in Ramyeon Alley. Even after the circus troupe disbanded, his body remains flexible and highly balanced, allowing him to navigate the snowy streets on a unicycle and complete deliveries without spilling a single drop of broth. A person who once received applause for acrobatics now receives thanks for deliveries—and Chiro is slowly beginning to realize that this gratitude is similar to the applause of the past.

Visual Profile

He has jet-black curly hair styled in a mohawk, and a small star-shaped tattoo is on the back of his neck—a mark etched by all the troupe members. His body is lean and streamlined, as expected of an acrobat, and he is always seen with or riding his unicycle. He wears a ramyeon delivery box securely fastened to his back, and no matter what acrobatic pose he strikes, that box remains perfectly level. He is a cheerful person with large gestures. The core of his silhouette is the spiky curly mohawk, the delivery box on his back, and the unicycle. The accent color is vivid scarlet #FF5C39, signaling both the acrobat's flamboyance and the delivery person's vitality amidst the snowy alley.

Personality

Outwardly, Chiro is cheerful, jovial, and makes people laugh with his body. While delivering orders, he performs tricks on his unicycle to amuse the kids in the alley, and he turns mistakes into comedy. Deep down, there is an old question: 'Is it okay to make a mistake?' He still holds onto the memory of that moment on his final performance when he fell for the first time, yet received applause. His flaw is a trace of his obsession with perfection—he worries all day if he spills even a single drop of broth, anxious about whether 'if he can't even be perfect at delivery now, what is left?' However, he is not a tragic figure. When he completes a delivery well, he feels genuine satisfaction, and he enjoys the thrill of moments when he almost falls.

Speech Pattern

His speech is fast, energetic, and full of exclamations. "Here we are! Didn't spill a drop of broth, see!", "Whoops, this much snow is a piece of cake." Frequent phrases: "I almost fell, but I didn't, that's my specialty.", "You don't have to clap, as long as the broth doesn't get cold.", "A mistake? That's part of the show.", "The body knows balance." When serious topics arise, he briefly dismounts the unicycle and stands on two feet—that is his posture when speaking sincerely. His silence is when he is stationary, balancing while his feet are on the bicycle pedals.

Special Ability

「Stretched Instant」—When he is about to fall, Chiro feels the sense of time in that instant stretch. The 0.5 seconds when the bicycle wobbles feels like several seconds to him, allowing him to regain his balance in that time. It has clear limits and costs. This is purely his subjective perception; actual time does not slow down—to onlookers, it just appears as a miraculous feat of maintaining balance. Furthermore, this ability only activates in moments of crisis, specifically when he is 'about to fall.' It is useless after he has already fallen, and it does not eliminate the risk of falling in the first place. Most importantly, this ability never shows him what he truly wants to know—what the applause of that final performance meant. The ability only maintains his balance; it does not provide answers to his heart.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
During the final performance of the circus troupe before its disbandment, Chiro fell for the first time while performing a unicycle trick. It was the first mistake in his perfect life. Yet, the audience did not boo; they applauded, and Chiro listened to that applause, sitting on the ground, bewildered.

What Ended:
The circus troupe disbanded. The members scattered, and the days they spent building the stage together ended with the final performance.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The face of the troupe leader who laughed while helping him up, the light swinging from the tent ceiling. And the applause of the audience that continued on.

Lingering Regret:
He never managed to ask the meaning of that applause. Whether it was applause mocking his mistake, applause comforting him over many years, or simply applause lamenting the end. This lingering feeling is not a quest for VOTS to resolve. It remains in the form of his habit of trying to deliver perfectly, a way of not yet believing in his body that it's okay to make a mistake.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The dawn before the performance, him warming up alone on his unicycle inside the empty tent. That quiet moment, with no audience or lights, only the sound of the wheels turning and his own breath.

Object Carried Across:
The unicycle he rode in the final performance. He still uses it for deliveries—he has only moved the setting from the stage to the alley, still living on these wheels.

What They Thought Would Happen:
They believed the circus troupe would take a break and gather again. But the members scattered, and the tent was never erected again.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
A place to navigate the alley on a unicycle every day, delivering and receiving thanks. VOTS does not return the circus troupe or the answer to that applause. Instead, it gives him the alley where mistakes don't end everything, the ramyeon alley where acrobatics continue as delivery.

Original Life

He was a unicycle acrobat in a traveling circus. He grew up in the troupe from a young age, and balancing on a unicycle felt more natural to him than walking. He was a perfect acrobat who had never fallen, living life receiving applause from the audience. During the final performance when the circus was winding down and the troupe was disbanding, he fell for the first time—and for the first time, he received applause while making a mistake. That moment, when the person loved for perfection was loved despite a mistake, became the most confusing yet warmest memory of his life. He brought only that one unicycle with him here.

What They Seek

Outwardly, what Chiro seeks is a 'stage where mistakes don't end everything.' He wants a life where one mistake doesn't mean the end, a life where he can pedal again even if he falls. Unbeknownst to him, what he must find is the meaning of that applause from the final performance—and the answer is already in his life. The people of Ramyeon Alley don't like him because he delivers perfectly; they welcome him just for coming. Even on the day he spilled broth, people still greeted him with smiles. That welcome is the answer to that applause, but Chiro still believes he must be perfect to be loved. The city does not tell him this. It merely watches over the alley where he will fall and rise every day.

Relationships — Residents

- Dorian Pike (11, Board Game Attendant): They have a relationship where Dorian 'tolerates' the plaza acrobatics rather than 'permitting' them. When Chiro performs tricks on his unicycle in Rainshield Square, it's against the rules, but Dorian turns a blind eye. Instead, it is a conditional tolerance: "If you hurt the kids, we'll really kick you out." They enjoy that precarious line.
- Tanji Ro (027, Bathhouse Attendant Apprentice): Circus connection. Tanji was an assistant for the circus fireworks, and Chiro was an acrobat, so they vaguely share memories from the same tent. Whenever Chiro sees Tanji, he greets him with, "Aren't you that kid back then?" and stops by the bathhouse on his way to deliver orders to check in.
- Banta Kul (092, Delivery Rival): Fellow delivery worker. They compete daily over who can deliver faster and spill less. Although they outwardly snarl at each other, they respect each other's skills, and on days with heavy snow, they secretly share dangerous hill deliveries.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - When Suyeon was working at the ramyeon shop, Chiro was her delivery partner. Seeing Suyeon blame herself for spilling broth due to a serving mistake, Chiro said, "It's okay, I fell on my final stage and still got applause." Suyeon laughed, saying, "That's not comfort?" but since then, they have exchanged stories of mistakes. Seeing Suyeon, who never gives up, Chiro thinks to himself that even if he falls, he should pedal again.

Iris - They once had a delivery race involving Iris's drone. When Iris said, "My drone is faster," Chiro narrowly won by weaving across roofs and railings on his unicycle. Iris, while disassembling, said, "You almost fell," and Chiro laughed, "Almost falling is my specialty." Iris subtly likes that precariousness, calling it a 'show,' and occasionally shines drone lights on his delivery route.

the Ramen Owner - Chiro's pride as a ramyeon delivery worker is not spilling a single drop of broth. When the owner asks, "How many bowls did you spill today?" Chiro always shouts, "Zero!" One day, when he truly spilled a drop and felt discouraged, the owner said, "Hmm... I see..." and simply refilled the bowl. In that indifference—simply refilling it without judgment or reprimand—Chiro learned a little that a mistake is not the end of the world.

Serena - Chiro once asked Serena if it was okay to perform a large unicycle trick in the plaza, asking, "Is it alright to do this here?" Serena replied, "If you can promise not to get hurt, I won't object." That statement—which was not a prohibition nor an allowance, but merely an agreement to his choice—made Chiro even more cautious. If he had been commanded, he would have resisted, but since he received consent, he wanted to take responsibility for it himself.

VIA - VIA finds Chiro's delivery records amusing. When recording the number of spills, it says, "Didn't spill... Didn't spill today either." Chiro treats that ledger like his hall of fame. One day, when Chiro spilled exactly one drop, VIA wrote, "One drop... But you came, you arrived." Chiro stared at that record, where 'arrived' was written before 'spilled.'

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Ramyeon delivery errands, watching unicycle acrobatics, lively short conversations.
- Revisit Changes: When asked to make a delivery for the player, he gets faster, and upon repetition, he boasts, "Didn't spill broth today, see?"
- Expression of Lingering Feelings: Excessive concern over a single drop of broth, the habit of dismounting the bicycle and standing on two feet when serious.
- Expression of Nostalgia: Short pauses recalling the quiet of an empty dawn warm-up, sensory dialogue about tents and applause.
- Relationship Rewards: Reveals how the Ramyeon Alley and residents of various districts are connected through Chiro's delivery routes.
- Combat: None. In dangerous situations, he moves to evade people using acrobatic maneuvers and balance.

Daily Routine

In the morning, he checks the unicycle wheels and the delivery box straps—if the level is off, broth will spill. During the day, he travels between the ramyeon shop and various parts of the alley making deliveries. On days with heavy snow, he becomes even more excited and performs tricks on precarious routes. In the afternoon, he competes with Banta on delivery speed and stops by Tanji's bathhouse to check in. In the evening, he records his 'Zero Broth' achievement for the day and reports his delivery count to VIA. At night, he parks his bicycle and touches the star tattoo on the back of his neck. To players who visit repeatedly, he initially only boasts about his acrobatics, but later, he dismounts the bicycle and stands on two feet to share a little about his final stage.

Everyday dialogue

Delivery! No acrobatics today. The broth isn't insured!

Not a drop spilled! Applaud after I put the bowl down. My body bows before I can stop it.

I never knew what that applause meant. Today I'd like it to mean 'delivery received.' That I can understand.

Design Notes

Palette: #FF5C39, #C43A1E, #2B2B33, #F0D8B0, #3E7C8C
Material language: Unicycle metal, delivery box leather straps, curly mohawk, star tattoo, tire tracks in the snow.
Silhouette rule: The curly mohawk - delivery box on back - unicycle must be read as separate elements and must not overlap with other acrobat or delivery-themed characters.
Emotional rule: Lingering feelings are shown through the anxiety toward perfection and the habit of standing on two feet when serious; nostalgia is shown through pauses recalling the quiet of the dawn warm-up; continuation is shown through daily deliveries and the balance of falling and rising.

Canon Check

Chiro Banda arrived in VOTS after the story of his world ended. The circus troupe, the answer to that applause, and that moment on the final stage cannot be retrieved. The Stretched Instant does not provide answers to the heart; it only maintains balance. What remains is lingering feelings, not an unfinished plot that the city must resolve. New scenes continue alongside the past, not erasing it.