The God of Jesters
Chapter 138 - 3.03.03 Please stay.

Chapter 138: 3.03.03 Please stay.

Hunger was the only thing Sheva knew, after her family abandoned her, she roamed the streets in search of food.

If you wish to eat, you have to work. A variation of these words was often spoken to Sheva whenever she begged for food.

Due to her build, barely anyone believed she was a young child of age seven. To most, she was obviously fourteen and hence able to work. It was what finally pushed her into the army. And that is where she met him.

"I haven’t seen someone as huge and manly as you before." The man was never one to hold back in his words, he was crass and used to get into fights with others. And Sheva was not an exception to this. That man was beaten by her multiple times.

But he never shut his mouth, he stayed with her through the border skirmishes, while joining her when she agreed to guerilla warfare behind enemy lines, which was done in an attempt to break the chain of support.

Following her through thick and thin, helping her when she was at her lowest, and becoming the only person she had ever felt close to.

But when asked why he followed her through all of this. His answer was always the same.

"Hah, pot calling the kettle black. We both know you were the one who followed me." That was how he had excused that question that day. And when they came back and were discharged from duty. He said something similar. "How about you follow me just like before? Who knows, you might find something you like."

She didn’t know how to treat this man, but she knew she wanted to waste away with him till old age. A lovely feeling she hadn’t felt ever in her life. With him, she finally felt elated, the hunger that had tortured her most of her life was gone when she was with him.

A hunger that was never satiated even when there was no more space in her stomach to fill.

But with him, that hunger stopped torturing her.

It was why his absence caused her so much pain. And why, did she build up a weapon for revenge? Broken by someone she can say is a savior. But she was not sure as of yet.

The man appeared to be kind, but she who has seen true kindness through her friend easily saw through his mask.

His worry for her safety was genuine, but the rest was not. Neither the story of his daughter, nor the harmless smile he kept making towards her.

Or at least, not truly correct. It was a conjecture she came to based on her instincts alone. And it was due to this reason, that she has chosen to stay here for a while. Look at the circumstances and adapt to it.

War is never fought in a day, it takes time and preparation, but more than all of it, it requires companions who can watch your back during your moments of vulnerability. A proper team is always more efficient than a one-man army. And it is true even on a higher level of strength. With few exceptions that is.

And even if the man called Max didn’t need her, she would choose to stick to him. It was rare for her to find a fellow human against the bastards that might just end up being this small country’s government.

A country that is much stronger than her home.

Or so the girl thought, unaware of the true might that is currently hidden in the great country of Yethel.

For it’s a country built by my own hands, and currently under the protection of someone I completely trust.

But I am getting off the point.

It was around eleven in the afternoon that Sheva woke up from her deep sleep, the night was a bit tiresome. Hence she slept for so long and saw that old annoying dream of hers. A dream that she doesn’t like anymore.

A dream that is just a dream and can never become reality.

"??" Looking outside, she saw the man who took her in, sitting under a tree in a meditative position. While parts of his body seemed to be sinking into the earth.

’That hand looks better than before?’ She thought for a while, before turning her head and moving on. The knights were a weird existence in her eyes. The ones she found on the battlefield always had different abilities depending on their bloodline.

But one thing was common for all of them. They had a recuperation method unique to them. A method to stabilize their injuries and in some extreme cases, grow entire limbs if the need arises.

So to her, it was surprising that Max would be healed so fast, but it was still not that surprising to her anymore. Just a curious understanding of who the owner of this safehouse was.

Ignoring the man who sat under the tree outside, she searched the house for a while before finding the kitchen. ’Nothing fresh?’ There were few spices, but most of it was just dried meat and grains, nothing more.

But this was a lot better than the battlefield, where she was forced to forage or even do some worse things that she didn’t wish to remember.

******

"You cooked something?"

"Just porridge," Sheva replied to Max who had just completed his meditation. "And your arm?"

"Fixed, it would take a few more days," Max spoke before sighing and saying. "Also, sorry about last night." It was only a few hours ago, but Max still spoke like it was yesterday. "I didn’t mean to break your weapon."

"No need, I understand why you said it. And thanks for giving me the time to think."

"Then do you plan to turn away?" Max said while sitting on the table, obviously asking for some of the porridge from his body posture. Which Sheva gave to him with a slight smile, while replying. "No, I haven’t changed my mind at all."

Sheva accepted some harsh words from this weird man who ate the food made with her hands. She expected him to make fun of her, bring her down, and show her place. But none of that happened.

"If you haven’t, then I have a few new names that might interest you." With some last night’s thinking of his own, he understood how useful it would be with a sniper on his side. A sniper that had area awareness and knew how to hide from the enemies and lurk in the shadows from a distance.

Their combo can be devastating. And more so considering the names the Jester has given him.

Names that he would have never considered were involved in it, neither does he believe in those words now. This is why he was going to move soon, with a direction given, he would eventually find something.

And at any moment during his personal investigation, if he finds any single connection, he will carry out his assassination.

And the help of Sheva would be needed during that time. Because the enemy was not just a Knight, but a Mystic as well. A mystic with an elven bloodline who is highly sensitive to their surroundings.

Making it almost impossible for him to assassinate one on his own. And he has to do a total of two on his own without much difference in time. And make it all appear as if it’s a simple hit and not someone with an agenda.

Someone who knows what is going on, someone who would go into hiding once they learn someone is lurking in the darkness, out for their blood.

*****

"These signs of slashes, what kind of weapon was the perpetrator using?" Salveraz asked the investigators while looking at the evidence, which was the armor one of the victims was wearing during the battle.

Though the one to answer him was not the investigator, but someone else. "A dagger, a curved one," Fahna said from the side, before turning to look at the helmet. "And this helmet is the one that was doused in acid?"

"From our understanding, all three were covered in acid at the same time, and from the broken vials we have recovered, all three of them hit each victim perfectly."

"You can learn something from the vials alone?" Fahna asked, but the investigator, although annoyed by the human that had entered his field, nodded. "The victims were trained enough, if the killer had delayed or missed, they would be ready for the follow-up attack."

"Correct." Fahna nodded, a smile appearing on her face before she turned to Detective Salveraz. "Detective, I have gained what I wanted from here, so I will be taking a leave for now?"

"So a meeting in the evening at the usual place?"

"If possible, I would prefer a place more private. There are things I can’t say in such a public setting."

"Then how about the Gutters?"

"Then The Gutters it is, Detective."