The God of Jesters
Chapter 525 - 8.09.2 There is a new life ahead.

Chapter 525: 8.09.2 There is a new life ahead.

"I can still hear you? Didn’t you say the last time, that I need to sleep to be able to hear your voice?"

"Minds are easier to connect than you might think... "

"I don’t care... can you please stay silent for a bit? I need to focus on the task at hand." It’s been a few months since Heroth was employed by Malidi, and during this time, he came to infer the kind of people he was working for.

And it was people, as although Malidi appeared alone, the little spirit over his necklace had told him that there were others keeping an eye on Malidi, but It was just that Heroth couldn’t look at them.

As for his job? Usually, it was to act as a guide in the seas as well as a mouthpiece for Malidi.

Because if you didn’t understand it already, Malidi was a bit weird. His speech patterns were confusing and the way he spoke in a lost manner made it harder for others to understand him. So a handler as well as a helper was needed for Malidi who could take care of him.

Among them, many have been employed before, but few survive the places Malidi had a habit of entering. That was until Heroth arrived and was forcefully employed by him.

"Kid, you have been alive for a long time... hopefully this never changes." Spoke the little spirit that really didn’t have a name. So Heroth also started calling him the same. "Little spirit, do you remember your old life? Before you turned into a ghost?"

Their life together was simple and for the little while Heroth was with the little spirit, they came close and learned some bits about each other. But in the background, Heroth had always assumed that some things were hidden from him whenever he asked about the spirit’s past.

But that was the matter of piracy, the young Heroth didn’t treat it any seriously and just moved on from the matter.

Well, that was until the day he found a Knight in Dark clothes and white hair eyeing him oddly when he was out to buy some fish. "Young boy, what is that thing doing on your neck?" Asked the Knight, appearing threatening, where his arm was ready to pull out his blade at any moment. Causing Heroth to turn scared.

"A protection idol, given to my employer..." In those days, Heroth was barely an apprentice Knight, so the forceful questioning got to him easily, and he blabbered some words that he shouldn’t have.

"Someone is capable of reigning in that dangerous wraith?... your employer, I would like to meet them." That was the first meeting of Heroth with the Radiant Knight Alabasta. A madman, completely obsessed with his new friend Jester.

*****

"The records speak of the young boy who Knight Alabasta met during his hunt for the Wraith that will later be known as Jester. A servant to Malidi... though what happens in that meeting later on, not much is known. But what we know is that Knight Alabasta failed in hunting Jester, as well as capturing Malidi."

Remira read the report she had read multiple times before. It was a classified report that had been sealed in the Radiant Archives. But with recent vents that transpired the existence of Jester became somewhat public. The old records were dug out once again. Among the most important ones was the retelling of what Grand Knight Alabasta experienced during his hunt for Jester.

The man who will later make a mistake in Durum in his obsession with Jester is also the man who was a teacher of one of the recent Elders, Vance Clifford.

"Captain, are we sure Heroth is the one we are after?"

"I spoke to him myself and he didn’t deny anything. He is the only key to finding Malidi." Although from the records alone, it was harder to find who this boy was, there was a small description that was left in the records, which when matched with some recent happening in the seas, it easier for them to pinpoint Heroth’s identity.

Not to mention, from all, they could understand, Heroth was still in touch in Malidi. He had disappeared from his ship at least twice each year for some odd reason that the investigators didn’t understand early on.

But with bits and pieces collected and the oddities that were noticed in some special forbidden zones after Heroth’s disappearance, it can be seen where he was going and with whom. As there is only one man who dares to venture into forbidden zones without any fear.

’He is weak... I wonder why Malidi keeps him close.’ Remira wondered, before shaking her head.

Currently, she was in a car that was slowly driving through the streets of the Southern District. And if one looks at it from the surface, things truly appear normal.

But only Remira knew that at this very moment, a high number of nobles were currently congregating in the Citadel of Truth, the top branch of the Church of Truthful Deceit on the continent of Brihma.

It was also the place where the hearing of Heroth would be conducted.

Of course, only selected people were allowed into the court due to the shame that this matter had brought to the church. While most others were forced to stay outside. Some were even confused over why they had been called.

And if they, who were established in the southern district were forced to stay out. It was almost impossible for Remira to even see the steps of the court.

But she stayed outside the church door and looked over the pedestrians. Doing nothing other than to wait for it.

Her intuition told her that something was going to happen that might shake the city. So she was here to fish in the chaos when the thing did strike.

Unaware that the danger she felt was much worse than she could ever imagine.

*****

"Isn’t it a bit damp today? It would seem the rainy season is back." Rosso’s fellow worker in the sewer spoke to Rosso who seemed lost in the distance, before shaking his body.

But Rosso was too lost in his own world, recalling a distant past. A memory. A time when he could barely move after his birth, a memory that had taught him many things.

"The World runs on hypocrisy unless bound by a contract, always go back on your words as long as it’s advantageous to you... well do that against strangers or enemies, among friends, you never do that." The teachings of Jester always felt contradictory sometimes.

He would one day ask you to be shameless and go do a naked walk in the city streets to kill your shame. The next day, he would speak of pride.

Even while killing, there will be times when he speaks of the best thing someone can do against an enemy is to give them swift death, so Jester will teach him how to extend the suffering.

But the next day, he would complain about the suffering being too boring and then prefer to kill the victim if the need arises at the fastest pace possible.

Even when eating food, the teachings always spoke of contradictory things that had made Rosso confused.

So confused that the first six months of his new life, Rosso was barely functioning being capable of speech. The random chaotic knowledge had harmed him in ways he didn’t understand at that time.

But he soon came to understand why.

’Humans are contradictory beings, driven by selfishness.’ Barring a few exceptions, this line held true for most of the people that Rosso had met in life. And with time he slowly started to understand why it was such the case.

"Don’t throw it on the ground, the dustbin is not far off from here." Rosso had spoken these words while leaving infected bodies in his wake that would cause more destruction in the long run.

"Why kill them for asking a simple question, don’t be so inhuman." Rosso had killed people for a little crime or to set an example against his enemies.

"Mass murder... it’s bad. But it’s needed." Rosso understood what he was going to do would turn him into an irredeemable monster. But he still chose to carry this plan as this was the only way left for him.

He knew that this was wrong. Even his master hadn’t stooped so low to cause such destruction. But Rosso, found it to be the only way to even the playing field.

"You are a perfect creation, an anomaly born for a singular purpose... "

"There are few things in the world that could stop you as long as you let go of yourself. There is no limit to your growth, no limit to the strength you can wield."

"But before you do such a thing before you use your true strengths... I hope you understand the price. The price that will be paid by others, the price of the lives that will be lost."

"And when they pay the price for your strength... remember, don’t be too drunk on it."

Those were the last words that were left in the Book of Knowledge left to him. Words that told him to maintain his humanity when he takes that last step. And it was time for Rosso to do this very same thing.

Turning to this new simple friend Rosso had made, he spoke in simpler words that had been touted by his Creator to others multiple times in his life. "Reincarnation exists, I hope, your next life is kinder." With those words, the air inside the sewers vibrated.