The God of Jesters
Chapter 180 - 3.12.1 Jump!

Chapter 180: 3.12.1 Jump!

The classic whip and carrot technique. I pushed him into danger due to my constrictive conditions. Then as an apology, I give him gifts, letting him know that I care for him.

An illusion that would establish a kind of dependency on me. A simple manipulation method is used commonly in an abusive relationship. Fooling the victim to think that they can’t find someone better than their current partner and even if this partner hurts them sometimes, they still care.

Shown by simple gestures of care like the one I gave to Max just now.

Of course, the reasoning I will give him will be simple. "I want you to be in your best form, for the protection mission. And this was the only way." Or so I will say, which is the truth. But in the back of his head, without even knowing, he will be affected by this small kindness by me.

I was such a kind being, so caring.

"Your backer seems rich?" Sheva said, looking at the bottles with some envy.

A single bottle of this is considered priceless but if sold, it would be able to afford a good mansion in the second zone of Bothal with some left on the side as well.

"I won’t drink, I need to convene with him first before confirming if it’s his gift or not." Even with the proper seal on the bottle cap, he didn’t trust the contents in this. He can already think of the reason why I might have sent this to him, but he is not so sure as of yet.

A bit of healthy suspicion is always good. Though it’s harder for him to imagine anyone other than Jester who can know the state he was in currently.

And if there is a third party in the know, they would have come down here themselves, instead of sending away such an obvious trap or poison to him.

He has seen the light of this third party, they have no need to use such discreet methods which might not work. A direct attack would yield better results.

"Tell me about the other things... the one you hid away. What were those?"

"They looked like gauntlets, mechanical ones."

"?"

******

"It recovered? Wonder if my flesh can get corrupted again?" Farhad recalled the days he was in Lucien’s Academy, a small student hated by many and barely able to cast a single spell. Causing his body to suffer from many internal injuries in the process, leaving a part of his chest to suffer from corruption.

Whose signs had long disappeared from his body. But even then, he still can’t help but think of those days and wonder if his current physique can fight off the corruption caused by magic or not.

"It’s time to move," Remicra ordered Farhad, who was inside the train toilet, looking at his face in the mirror. Then looking toward the mask he had been wearing till now, he chose to put it away. Before getting out.

"I am here." He came out, while he placed the mask in his jacket.

Even with the sun in the air, there was a chill in the air, which was a sign that the five-day journey was coming to an end.

Of course, he might have come earlier, if not for losing to a bunch of assassins and getting his head smashed. A fact that he regrets a lot, as the longer it goes, the higher the chance of his sister facing the same fate as his father. Which he can’t afford.

But when he felt that the train was not slowing down, he turned to Remira and asked. "The train doesn’t seem to be slowing down, are you sure we are here?" The speed was not the only thing that made Farhad question.

Being traveling for the five days straight, he has noticed a few patterns, before any station, no matter how small. There would be obvious signs of life before the train reaches there. But what was this?

There was nothing here, just a few mountains covered in greenery and that’s it. This was a land of nothing, there was nothing here besides a few animals that might be living here and dying under the train tracks.

But that’s it.

And after his question, it was only then that Remira answered. "We are going to jump from here. The path to my village has been erased, we can only walk there on foot." She said while opening the door. Letting Farhad know what he had to do.

"Captain, I can pay for a small blimp or even a plane if you wish to. If we go on foot, it might take a lot longer." Jumping off a running train?

It was not much of an issue for Farhad, he had the physique of a peak Adept Knight while holding the ability to regenerate. The thing he didn’t like was the fact that he might waste some time.

A lot more time on this journey than he had previously expected. But seeing Remira pick up her bag while readying herself for the jump. Farhad knew that he had no choice in this. All he can do is follow behind her.

Because at the end of the day, he still needed her for his own goals. He had to use her to deal with Jester before he did something to his sister. And if not for knowing the limits of Jester’s manipulations, he wouldn’t have been so worried.

"At least tell me, how long would it take to reach your village?" His words earned him Remira’s stare, who answered. "A week at least, if we walk nonstop." Hearing such words caused him a bit of worry, but at least he had time in his head. "I will follow you."

At these words, Remira waited until Farhad had his bag on his back before she made a jump into the green terrain. A gentle descent that appeared practiced and smooth. Which was contrasting to the ugly fall of Farhad, who rolled on the ground, before getting up with an ugly mug on his face.

"New experiences!" Then he smiled, looking at Remira, who shouted to him. "Follow me, the path ahead might be a bit difficult."

She said as she saw the train moving farther and farther.

Of course, she also noticed an additional scene. She saw a few people take their heads out of the train window and look toward them.

’Followers or more assassins?’ She was not sure who they were, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before they saw each other face to face once again.

And Remira will be waiting for it, and she hopes this time, she can learn a bit more about Farhad, how his regeneration works. And most of all, what kind of memories he retains.

But that was all for the future.

"Captain, do you remember the path? Everything seems a bit the same here." There were no landmarks and no way to even identify them. The only thing he did know was that he was somewhere between Lakham and Ishtal, with Ishtal being the last stop of the railway line, as any further travel was impossible due to the cold as well as mountainous terrain.

"No, I don’t, but I will know the moment I climb that." She said pointing toward one of the small mountains that was around two kilometers away from them.

"That seems steep," Farhad said, before shaking his head. "I might struggle to climb it, I have no experience in mountain climbing."

"You can just stay below, I just need to give you one look and we can move together after it." Even if she treated Farhad’s older reincarnations poorly, cutting their heads just to ensure that his regeneration was on the safer front. It didn’t mean she hated him, instead, there was always some guilt in her heart.

She was remorseful over what happened in Durum and what Farhad experienced. And the moment she had learned about Jester’s involvement and how he might have survived Durum. She planned to give him a visit on her own as well.

There was no way she would let the past repeat itself, she was going to end him on her own.

But her priority was still her home village and the intrinsic urge to come back to it.

For some reason, she didn’t know why, but something here had asked her to come back and she could feel someone waiting for her in this place. As for who?

She couldn’t say for certain, but all she knew was that this being or person was someone very important to her.

It was for such a reason, she didn’t want Farhad to waste his time and struggle to climb a mountain.

Something which might take her half an hour to climb, but for him, it would be a whole day.

Not to mention, she believed that the people who were following her, might just strike if she moved away from Farhad.

A perfect opportunity to thin the herd of these bastards. Making their forward journey much easier.