Chapter 177
"So here's the thing..." "Your opponent turned out to be Ares, huh? My hands are itching for a fight."
I never expected to meet someone connected to a noble family currently embroiled in conflict, and I mentioned it during dinner. Who knows what kind of fate leads to these situations, but if things continue like this, Ares and Nel will end up paired together.
"But Ares, huh?" "Is something worrying you?"
Since I don't know Ares' character, his combat abilities are a complete unknown. I intend to face him at full strength, but if his skill setup has bad compatibility with Nel's, there's a chance we could get tripped up.
"Nah, I'm just a bit concerned about his skills and actual strength."
To be honest, my current stats should be on par with Claudia, who ranks among the top NPCs. There's still room for improvement in technique, but purely in terms of firepower, I can't imagine losing easily.
But compatibility matters in these things.
Just like rock can't beat paper in rock-paper-scissors, FBO has matchups where certain styles counter others. Aiming for versatility can sometimes make you a jack-of-all-trades who loses to everyone—that's just how FBO works.
Not that versatile builds are weak, though. Omni-directional types aren't necessarily the strongest, but they're definitely convenient.
They might lack one-hit power, but they're great for players who prefer whittling opponents down with multiple attacks.
I'm getting sidetracked. The point is, there are styles that counter Nel's combat-merchant build. The first that comes to mind are long-range specialists who excel at spacing.
No matter what, Nel in her current state can't close physical gaps, and if she can't get close, she could lose outright to ranged attacks.
Another annoying one would be trap-based builds.
Pre-setting traps might violate duel etiquette, but conversely, placing them mid-fight is fair game.
Some players do specialize in trap-laying skills during combat.
I was wondering if Ares might fall into that category, but judging by how he fought in the Orc Forest, I shouldn't need to worry.
"Ares? I've never seen him fight, so I can't say for sure."
The Ares I saw was a straightforward sword-user, the orthodox type. Assuming his skills align with that, he's likely a close-combat swordsman.
If he is a sword-based build, Nel stands a chance as long as she manages spacing correctly.
"Most likely, he uses daggers—dual-wielding, in fact." "Huh?"
I was making those predictions when Claudia's words made my eyes widen.
What does that mean? Ares uses daggers?
"Lady Claudia, Ares was using a sword. Not a dagger—a longer one. A longsword, I think?" "Yeah, that's what I saw too."
His fighting style was unmistakably swordsman-like. At the very least, he didn't look like the type to dual-wield daggers and fight at high speed.
"Besides, Lady Claudia, Ares wasn't even armed when you met him, right?"
Claudia and Ares only crossed paths once—during the Human-Faced Tree incident when they went to see the Duke.
Back then, he was in casual clothes and didn't seem to be carrying any weapons.
Was he hiding daggers or something?
"His footwork. When he tried to block our way, his footwork wasn't that of a swordsman—it was a technique sometimes seen among scouts. Well, there were some swordsman-like habits mixed in, but the foundational technique was definitely from that side."
Claudia had been watching his footwork. In battle, foot movement is crucial, and it changes depending on the weapon.
The rest of us hadn't been paying attention to that, so we missed it.
But Claudia saw it.
"A swordsman with footwork resembling a scout's..."
She has no reason to lie. Which means Ares might have scout-like skills despite being a swordsman.
Footwork—no, swordsmanship too—ingrained techniques surface instinctively in the heat of the moment.
Swordsman and scout skills aren't incompatible. Depending on how they're combined, you could even wield something like a greatsword.
So, the technique he instinctively used must be part of Ares' actual skillset.
It's not unusual for scout-type fighters to use longswords. From this perspective, Ares might be an unorthodox swordsman, deviating from the standard.
But that doesn't align with how he fought the orcs. Back then, his movements were purely swordsman-like in my eyes.
My muttered words were an attempt to resolve my doubts.
Yet, the unease wouldn't fade.
"Did something seem off to you?"
Noticing I'd stopped eating and was lost in thought, Ingrid spoke up.
"Nah, something just feels wrong, but I can't put my finger on what."
I couldn't answer her question. All I knew was that I was left with this unsettling feeling—like I'd overlooked something critical.
"It's not impossible for a swordsman to use daggers. So the most likely explanation is that Ares has a slightly unconventional fighting style." "You look unconvinced." "Yeah."
About 80% of me believes that's the case. My reasoning makes sense. But the remaining 20% won't let me fully commit.
Claudia gave a wry smile, as if reading my face, and I returned it with a sigh.
"Intuition like that is worth heeding. That unease is like a warning from your experience. Ignoring it and pressing forward is sometimes necessary, but there's no urgency now. Taking time to resolve it is also an option." "That's true."
No need to figure it out immediately. Claudia's right. I might not be satisfied, but I can shelve it for now.
Just as I was about to resume eating—
"Maybe he's hiding that he can use daggers? You know, like a secret finishing move! Boys love that stuff. My brothers used to do it too."
Amina's offhand comment made the missing puzzle piece click in my head. It overturned the 80% certainty and elevated the remaining 20%.
While I somewhat related to the "secret" part, I deliberately avoided voicing the cliché line ("I knew something like this would happen!") and let my thoughts race instead.
Hiding? His preferred weapon? For what purpose? To conceal his true intent. Would Ares even need to do that? No, given his show-off personality, that seems impossible.
"...Is the premise itself wrong?"
My impression of Ares was based on our first meeting. Then, after seeing him fight, I pegged him as a swordsman.
Everything hinges on that premise.
A justice-seeking swordsman. That's how I saw Ares.
But if that premise crumbles, the whole picture changes. Was it premature to define Ares after just two encounters?
The named characters I know don't match his appearance, name, or personality—but could he be one of them under a different guise?
He goes by Ares now, but maybe he had a different name in the original timeline. Some characters got scarred up in accidents—maybe he's a prototype of one of them.
Or a character who abandoned their name due to some past trauma and became jaded.
There's also the possibility of a character who wears a full-body disguise, one who abandoned humanity for magic, or even one whose inner self is an old man in a beautiful girl's body.
Plenty of characters underwent physical changes, but through their events, you'd learn about their past and enjoy the gap between then and now.
But none of them seem to match Ares.
Thinking from another angle—what if the change was intentional? Altering appearances, disrupting scenes, doing it all seamlessly—I can think of a few who fit that description.
"...This might be bad."
But when a certain person came to mind, a cold sweat ran down my back. Worse, I found myself convinced, with far less unease than before.
"What's bad?"
I hesitated for a second on how to answer Nel.
"..."
Everyone waited for my response, but staying silent wasn't an option.
So, slowly, I parted my lips.
"The Jester of Mad Delights might be here."
I spoke the name.
"The Jester of Mad Delights? Huh? That sounds familiar." "Wasn't that the person Libertà asked the Duke to track down before?" "Ah! Right! That super dangerous person, right?"
They exchanged glances, and Amina only remembered after Nel mentioned it.
"Yeah. In a way, he's the most troublesome one to find."
This guy only appears on-stage in a false guise. Without Claudia's observation, I wouldn't have even considered the possibility. That's how skilled he is at disguise.
There's no telling who he's impersonating. The only way to find out is to tear off everyone's faces one by one.
His disguise skills rival those of a certain phantom thief.
Sometimes, he even changes gender or height.
"Even among nobles, rumors say he's a master of infiltration, assassination, and theft. In the underworld, no one is as versatile as he is."
Ingrid, being a noble, had heard of him through rumors.
There's no lie in that. The Jester of Mad Delights is infamous in the underworld. Though that's based on the original timeline—I had no proof he was already this well-known.
"So a person like that is impersonating an adventurer? For what reason?"
It's still just a possibility, but for some reason, I feel oddly certain.
"Reason?"
And if the Jester is indeed involved, nine times out of ten, the reason is—
"To make someone suffer, I guess." "Suffer?"
To thrust hardship upon someone.
The Jester acts on the same logic as a five-year-old bullying their crush—a ridiculous reason that twisted as he grew up.
Because he likes them, he wants to torment them. Because he loves them, he wants to bring them despair.
He forces them to face hardship, and just as they overcome it, he prepares a new one. All to see the look of despair on their faces.
That desire is his sole purpose in life.
"What the hell."
Nel shuddered, rubbing her arms as if to ward off a chill.
"That's messed up. Seriously."
Amina paled, struggling to find words beyond her visceral disgust.
"...If such a person is in the royal capital, does that mean there's someone here he wants to torment?"
The heavy silence lingered until Claudia spoke up, seeking confirmation.
"Right! Hey, Libertà! Could it be Lady Esmeralda? The broken engagement—was that part of his harassment?" "No, that's not it."
Who his target is, I honestly don't know. But it's definitely not Lady Esmeralda.
I answered Nel firmly, wanting to reassure her.
"That guy starts by breaking down the people around his target first."
If Lady Esmeralda were the focus, he wouldn't target her directly—he'd go after what she holds dearest. He'd destroy it, let her regain confidence, let her feel safe—then strike the fatal blow.
"If the damage is already directed at her, then she isn't his true target."
So who is the Jester of Mad Delights after? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with an answer.