The God of Jesters
Chapter 711 - 11.03.4 Work with us

Chapter 711: 11.03.4 Work with us

Random thoughts, even random images, it was harder to tell what was real and what was false in this realm that he found himself in, a game of chess played between a master controller with countless little tools at hand, and him, only a little pawn.

"You won’t get anything." But Darde didn’t lose himself in this world of illusions, the enemy was trying to pry into his very being, using subterfuge and illusions, probably considering him a fool or weak-minded.

But those kinds of games didn’t work on Darde, he had long noticed the lies around him, even with his psyche weakened to extreme under the suppression of whatever force had been holding him down.

"So release me, we can have a normal conversation instead of the one like this." He spoke in a deeper voice, showing no fear towards the individual who placed him in this world that felt closer to a dream than a mental landscape.

Which did fascinate him a bit, but he closed his mouth, looking toward a small cat that walked out of the shadows, looking at him with curiosity. "I saved your life, the least you can do is not struggle."

From the lion’s mouth into the wolves’ den, is truly a stroke of luck that needs to be researched. But Darde didn’t fear his new captors too much, even if they exceeded his previous enemies in strength and means.

"I am a worthless investigator, there is no reason for you to look into my head, nothing that important anyway." Darde downplayed himself, his emotions genuine, for he truly believed it. But what he didn’t expect were the words that the cat said in reply.

"A worthless investigator is not usually the target of the assassination of such scope, more so when one keeps in his place... you don’t usually snoop around and get into people’s business, doing the bare minimum and only hunting those that don’t usually have a backing." People might call Darde Spineless as he is spineless, but that’s usually how one needs to act if one wishes to survive in this world.

Righteousness will only bring trouble to you and your family.

"I am as surprised as you, which is why I did what I did before," Darde spoke again, his words simple and direct and he didn’t even mention the flaws he made during the plans as they were there for everyone to see.

More so for an individual like the one ahead of him, she who can learn of his matters at such a fast speed. So underestimating her is never good.

"Finding the reason for the assassination was my top priority, the rest didn’t matter as long as my family remained safe." He spoke, knowing that his captors already knew of his background, there was no more need to lie again, more so if it would put his family’s lives in jeopardy.

"... Your actions are not what interests me, it’s your execution. Those moves and coldness are not something a simple investigator should have... Those were practiced to perfection, ingrained in your bones. So lying about your background won’t do you any good here."

"But I am a normal investigator... nothing more." Darde ran through his mind, he recalled the events from before and the oddities he encountered, it wasn’t hard to conclude who his captors were, or at least to a certain level why they might be here. "I read the memories of Emira, and although I might have overlooked most of the stuff in a hurry, I still grasped a few important key points that ran through her mind during her last moments of sanity, all I desire is my freedom and promise of safety for me and my family. And I can promise you all I know of her mind." The woman had used him before and he in turn used her, it was easy to see what their intentions were.

He took what was meant to be there’s which is probably why they tracked him down and tried to mess around his mind.

Truly, his luck can be considered legendary, or so Darde thought. But he is not to blame for such thoughts. He lived mostly a mundane life if one were to ignore his job. This was the most action he had seen in decades.

But once again, his captors just shook their heads. "I don’t care about that woman, you interest me a lot more," Mini spoke, her eyes shimmering in the dream world, but she paused and said. "Though whatever the case may be, I don’t wish to be enemies with you, nor antagonize your family in any kind. So you can go for now. As for the price, you will have to pay to enjoy our services, which will reach your home in due time."

"So easily?" Darde was surprised before turning silent. These people, if he thinks about it harder, aren’t they cultists that steal the organs of their victims? What kind of payment were they looking for?

"Whatever the debt is, only I will carry it, don’t involve my family in it."

"Please, we are not animals, we don’t harm children or mortal women. So even if you die, they won’t have to repay your debts... " This didn’t sound good, but as long as his family was safe, Darde didn’t care.

"I just hope when the time comes, you help us with a few things." With those words, the world around Darde changed. He woke up in a small shack bandaged and filled with tonics. He could feel his body healing rapidly, a sign of using high-value magic potions on him.

"What... where are you, people." He spoke again, finding the hut dusty and empty, they just threw him here and left. "Hmm." However, when looking deeply around the room illuminated with sunlight, he did notice a small piece of paper diffusing magical energy around it. "Hmm?"

It was a contract, a contract that contained direct promises and limitations without any room for interpretation. With the exception of the clause safeguarding his own life, the rest of the offer in the contract was pretty fair on the surface.

Still, it was pretty one-sided with rules that stipulated that he had to ignore certain murders and give enough leeway for the certain killer to escape by providing her information and such. And this contract only ends if the major favor by the employer has been used.

Which might be never, and he remains their patsy forever.

But for his family, Darde will sign it.

An action that had sealed his fate forever.

******

"You can’t track it?" Spoke the Knight by the name of Kaiso Lore, the one who was present in the bar when Mini rescued Darde.

"Nothing comes up, which is to be expected, as the enemy you faced was probably a powerful mystic or a mage. This is going to be troublesome." Replied the mystic to whom Kaiso came with the blood samples of Darde.

Though even he was as fast as he could, the result was not satisfactory, the enemy was a lot faster than Kaiso had anticipated, sealing their tracks and making it impossible to follow them.

And as frustrating as this was, what more annoyed him was the fact that Darde had hidden right under their nose, acting as one of their own which not only earned him extra time for his "people" to come and save him but also he humiliated him by enjoying the treatment that Darde probably earned while killing his men. "Fuck." He wanted to curse loudly, but he didn’t. The most he could say was this word, considering the respect he held for the Mystic ahead of him.

"You feel frustrated, I can understand..." Spoke the mystic looking at his friend. "In my case, I am just so tired of all failures, that I stopped caring."

"Hmm?"

"Kaiso, are you unaware of the current state of things? How many accidents have happened with the majority of clues turning useless?"

"I have been aware of the incidences, but the Bar exists outside the Market, so I am not privy to those details."

"Just know this Kaiso, you are not alone in this, similar accidents have happened in our trade and even outside of it, most showing no progress or coming up with any result." The Mystic spoke sighing. "Some great force has come to our city, and with how they operate, it would be better to ignore them and let the higher-ups deal with it, it’s not our problem."

"But... I get it. Hopefully, I don’t get a pay cut this month." The man sighed, turning around to leave, but suddenly, he was held back a bit. "I feel bad taking money and not giving any good results... so let me give you a suggestion."

"Be wary of the rats."