The God of Jesters
Chapter 385 - 6.14.2 Journey to the west.

Chapter 385: 6.14.2 Journey to the west.

There was no reason for me to answer such a question, as I had no way to prove why I was sure that Jester would keep his promise and leave my family alone. Which made me reply with "What other choice do I have?"

Yes, what other choice did I have in this situation?

"The other choice we have is to end him..." Captain’s answer didn’t surprise me much. She was this kind of person, to begin with. And knowing her nature, I knew that I couldn’t defend Jester at this very moment.

’Why did I even wish to defend him?’

Whether it was the influence of living in Yethel for the past year or the influence of Jester’s memories. What I knew now was that things were not as simple as they appeared to be. "The focus should be on protecting Number t... I don’t even know her true name." I say in frustration, recalling how I was forced to use a mortal to save my skin.

No... to save the captain.

I didn’t know if it was worth it or not, as the captain from before didn’t seem to exist anymore. She appears more like a stranger to me. Probably a change due to her experience in the prison. And to prove my point. "Nothing will happen to her... don’t think too hard about it."

"Then I will ask you, do you trust your friend?" I asked, just like how she asked me before. Making her turn silent. "I don’t trust Jester or anyone in Yethel, but Sheva... I believe she would be able to delay any Number Two’s hearing long enough for me to save her."

"Not to mention, there was also the part that you said there at the end." As she said those words, a hint of uneasiness came to me, which I couldn’t pinpoint at first, but as her words continued, I knew that spoke of something too personal from before.

"What of the past, that you mentioned before?" She asked a question whose answer I could never speak of. For I knew what it might entail if I were to do so.

’A fate worse than death.

Although the reason for such fear was strange to me, I knew of the fact that things wouldn’t go well if this information was exposed. So I sighed and said. "I can’t tell it to you, even if I want to." These were a universal code word for being under a contract, even if I was not under one.

"You don’t think I would be gullible enough to believe that lie of yours?" There was a mockery on her face, which made her feel almost human and not the unreachable perfect being she was before.

Or is it that I see through her facade of confidence, I don’t hold awe for her anymore, so I can see things that I was not able to before. "It’s not a lie, I won’t tell it to you unless absolutely necessary, which would probably be followed by my demise."

There was no reason for me to lie, I hated Jester as much as Remira, if not more so. So why would I want to protect him? The captain should also know this. So she appeared to have backed off, for now at least.

******

The first week of our journey was filled with fear. Or at least fear on the part of my subordinates, as me and Sheva were pretty much confident in the lack of conviction of those two fools when the lives of their companions were on the line.

The very same companion whose journey back was a lot more enjoyable than the one before.

"It’s a lot wobblier than the last one I journeyed on," I said with a complaint, cursing my fate, as I puked some of the food that I had eaten in the morning. "Seems like little Crow is not used to the seas as much..." She spoke about her own experience, how she was confined to a single room before, with the only chance of fresh air from the small window or going on the deck under the protection of Farhad.

Which when looked at in hindsight should have been hellish for a princess like Selene, but it seemed, she didn’t mind it at all.

"A dwarf’s body is not made for the sea... *blegh..." The ship I came to Cynark in before was a proper stream ship with a metal hull and stable throughout the journey.

But considering that the whole of Luthanza and even Wortham were at high alert due to some of Selene’s mother, no big ships could leave or enter the major ports of these two states, with some obvious exceptions.

Sadly, I can’t ride those exceptions without being found out.

Which forced me to travel in such a bad ship.

"You will get used to it... in the coming weeks." She said in a laughing manner, which came as a surprise to the crew that was managing the sails.

In their mind, some bad thoughts popped up, from me falling for a prisoner to the prisoner casting some powerful magic.

Even some of my subordinates thought the same even after learning that she was one of them, just due to the fact that the two of us stayed together a lot.

But who is to explain to them, how can I say to them that Selene is my niece, and she is also one of the few who is aware of my true identity as Crow?

After done with my puking and coming back to my room with Selene, I found that Sheva was waiting for us there. "You both, sit." She said, and we nodded.

"Crow told me, this was your plan?"

Due to the fear of being found out, Sheva had been busy, keeping a watch on the horizon in case there was an ambush waiting for her. However, she did keep the act of confidence from letting such fear spread among her subordinates, including me.

Who she took special care of. This is becoming a bit creepy, but do not worry, as I have pinpointed the reason why she is like this.

"My superiors were worried over keeping her in prison, but unable to do a thing, due to her identity." She explained why she came up with such an idea, and to prove that she could succeed, she even volunteered to do it all herself.

But there was one issue that Sheva noticed. "Hmm, you are still hiding something. Knight Remira is not the kind to put the great gift of Ward on just anyone. This shouldn’t be your first meeting with her?"

At such a question, Selene’s eyes shined a bit, as if she never expected Sheva to be so insightful to notice such a detail. "Correct, I was in Durum during my training. Working undercover among the Radiant Eyes to learn their movements."

"It’s where I initially met her. And due to some unexpected fate, saved her." When speaking about the part of saved, Selene appeared a bit colder than before. "Was that your superior’s order?"

"Yes... but it was my superior among the Radiant Eyes, a Knight by the name of Vance Clifford." It was the man she had been following all this time, the man who was her true target, but it was fate that brought her and Remira together.

"Vance was a legacy disciple of a powerful Radiant Knight who had a bad relationship with our country...." Her story about Vance was detailed enough, where she told about his past and his mysterious master who was the craziest of the bunch that had harmed not only innocents in his pursuit of me but even his own fellow Knights.

"I consider that it was my fate to meet Knight Remira, considering she ended up becoming a bigger headache for our country than Vance could ever hope to become."

Though the story of Selene sounded interesting enough, Sheva still knew that the woman in front of her was hiding something.

Something she assumed had something to do with her friendship with Remira.

But Sheva can’t say such a thing, not when I was here, who had suffered due to Remira.

’This woman won’t dare say that her plan was mostly to save Remira and nothing else.’

Who knows, if the predetermined meeting was not meant as a test for her, but for this woman.

What she would choose at the end, who she will go with.

’She is somewhat similar to me in this aspect.’ Sheva was also in a way, Remira’s friend.

It doesn’t matter what side they stand in, Sheva always holds respect for Remira who showed her a way to survive Pulgasiri and then even cleansed her mind of Jester’s little tweaks, which ended up making Sheva aware of her own guilt of survival.

"Now that serious talk is over... I wonder he is not annoying you, isn’t he?" Sheva asked her, looking toward me as if I was some mischievous child.

But my cute niece shook her head as she lied. "He is the little brother I never had."

And so our days on the ship continued.

We talked, we laughed, and we even partied as days turned longer.

It was a journey with not much happening besides me puking food a lot.

Which made it so that I was forced to eat less and less as I never adapted to the sea no matter how long it went.

And after a month of journey. "Please end it..." I cursed the heavens, hoping to see the horizon.

And lo and behold, I saw land.

The land that I called home.