The God of Jesters
Chapter 153 - 3.06.3 A little bit of thinking.

Chapter 153: 3.06.3 A little bit of thinking.

A coward, that’s what the Knights of Radiance considered my father to be. A coward who took their tool and used it for his own goals. The fire that had been used by the Knights of Radiance for generations was now in the hands of a man who never dared to set foot in the place of that flame’s origins.

Fearing that the Knights might take it from him.

Or so, it’s what most of the Knights considered as truth. Which was a lot different than they might expect. My father thought it was the flames keeping the monster at bay. The flames that kept his family safe.

A willful ignorance caused by a false hope. Because even I understood how foolish my father was. But I was not here to give out an excuse to these people. I came here to return what was theirs in return for their help.

And for a world that is driven by benefits, I believe these men won’t deny me of my desires. For it matches theirs as well. However, due to constant failures in capturing that entity, they have accepted their defeat and don’t wish for any more losses.

"He was a coward, but he still gave up his life for me. So I would prefer if you don’t call him that, in front of me."

Hearing my words, the man changed his tune. With a smile, he provided me with a meal, which I barely touched, and a place to stay. "Any delay and he would escape."

"Didn’t you say the being can’t interact with the real world until he finds a proxy? And it took him a total of twenty years for his plans to come to fruition?"

"From what I see, we have plenty of time. Enough time for you to do one thing, which can act as assurance, that we can depend on your words."

"What is it?"

"Stay for a week, we will talk later. I have to see if the things at the other end went as we had expected." Weird words that never explained a thing to me. Were they going to kill me here and extract the flames?

No, the chance of that happening is low. I might have run away from home, but I am still a great asset to my country. There are probably men who have followed me here and any uninformed harm on me would be considered an attack on my country’s sovereignty. In a way, they consider this "weapon" their own.

And unless I give it away in a public setting. The hypocrites of my country would probably try to pick up a fight. Which is not something I wish to see.

That’s why I hope that the Knights don’t do anything stupid. Because, even with all the stories of chivalry and kindness I have heard of the Radiant Knights. The memories and hate of Jester towards them were understandable.

Fools driven by the obsession to purify the world were just another cult. A cult that can be useful in my goal.

So I waited in the small space I was given. Never daring to leave my room for any reason. In a way, I was in a tiger’s den. And with a small mishap, some radicals might use it as an excuse to end me and recover the flames. Which is not something I hoped to see. So I maintained my position, living like a corpse inside a room only opening the door to let the fresh air in and see the scenery.

’Is this really the place with one of the continent’s strongest powers?’ I wondered and found that this place was not much different than some other Knights academy that he had seen while following his father like a rabbit before.

Even his sister had lived inside one of these academies while being a mage herself. Just to learn some self-defense and learn how to handle these men.

Something that was super alien to me.

"You are outside today?" A man asked. A bit young, unlike the GrandKnight I met before. And from his build, I was sure he was not a Knight.

But then there were his books and the clothes he wore, giving the air of a scholar. So a mage perhaps? But that was wrong as well. It was a well-known fact that the mages and Radiant Knights don’t gel well together. Which only left one thing.

’Mystic, just like the late Sir Maxim.’

"Please come in," I spoke in a kind voice, as I never intended to give these people any reason to harm me. But this man seemed to ignore it completely and entered the room I was given. "Barely touched." He made a curious comment, which only now made me notice an odd habit I seemed to have developed after the experiment.

As the Mystic said, the room was barely touched. I just slept in bed and drank some water. Barely touching anything out of curiosity or moving them.

It was so bad, that dust had settled in parts of the room. "I am sorry, I was the one to deny help."

"No, please... this was not a comment on hygiene." A bit embarrassed, the young Mystic soon changed his tune as he found a place to sit. "I am Mystic Jasper and I came here for your test."

"There is no need for my introductions here, but I am Farhad Maisel, son of Varkus Maisel." I gave some introduction, before getting back on point. "A week has gone by, did it need to take this long?"

"Yes, for now. This test might take even longer."

"Please explain."

"You have to go somewhere with someone important, who will act as your captain. A Knight."

Hearing these questions, suspicions popped up in my head.

’A test? An excuse to get me killed so as to recover those flames?’ I thought. Before shaking my head. These pious men might be a lot of things, but liars they were not. They won’t ever use a scheme such as this to get something from me when they can directly snatch it away without an issue.

Meaning, even if someone among them had an agenda. It was obviously not meant for my death. A death I really looked forward to, an end to my hollow existence.

But that will come in the future. For now, I wish to save that foolish sister of mine, that had fallen for his trap.

"Can you provide me details of this test?"

"Just approval from your captain. That’s all that is needed. She requires some support where she is going and you will be going with her." Approval? An unexpected condition. However, depending on the nature of this captain, my goal can be achieved faster than expected. Meaning I can move on to save my fool of a sister.

So I asked him. "Who is this Knight Captain I will be working with? And how fast can we leave for this test?"

"Well, she is someone that was in the city during that time." At the mention of these words, various radiant knights came to my memory which were borrowed from Jester.

Some of them are young, while most of them are old. But if they were to ask for a prominent member the pronoun "her" can be used. Then it would only be one. "Remira Wyrmwood?" I asked and the man finally showed some surprised expression. "Did Vance speak of it to you? The name of this Knight?" He asked me. But I only shook my head.

"Bits and pieces of jester’s memory. He seemed to have a liking for her." I say, pointing at my head. Making the Mystic look at me with starry eyes.

I could even feel the hair on my body stand up straight as if someone intrusive just scanned my body. "I would prefer it if you don’t do that," I asked and the Mystic complied with an embarrassed laugh.

"She meant to act as the field operative in Durum with the Late Sir Maxim Hailey. Sad to say, he fell and she suffered a bizarre fate."

I never met this woman that he spoke of, the only one I ever met was the librarian and Maxim before I was killed and turned into what I am now. But with the memories I carry of Jester. I was well aware of many occurrences that happened in the city. Details that I haven’t even told the countless investigators that came from the intelligence of Duke of Wortham.

In fear of what kind of disaster all of this information might bring me.

Even the little fact that the rumors of Cynark assassinating Ikuras Yethel can bring about a new war.

So I kept my mouth shut on most of these elements. And would use them appropriately when the need arises.

As for the Knight Remira. I looked forward to meeting her. "I hope she had recovered from that date much better than I did." I smiled a bit, considering in a way we both were victims to the bastard’s game.

"If possible, please arrange a meeting with her beforehand. I wish to meet the woman who only exists in my memory... not in a creepy way, mind you."

A small joke was a good end to this talk.