Chapter 190
Here's the translation without any asterisks:
No sooner is one disaster over than another begins—I find myself marveling at how often this cycle repeats.
Lately, it feels like I’ve been constantly at the mercy of other people’s whims rather than my own.
Maybe that’s why.
"I don’t wanna work!! This humble servant absolutely refuses to work!!"
As if rebelling against it all, the moment I saw the figure who appeared before me, I reflexively crossed my arms in an X and shouted exactly that.
"I didn’t come here to make you work this time."
The person who appeared was His Grace the Duke. Normally, a commoner acting this rudely toward a noble would be grounds for execution without a second thought. But perhaps aware that he’d pushed me too hard, the Duke gave a wry smile, shook his head, and assured me his visit wasn’t about assigning another task.
"......"
Even I couldn’t muster the energy to jump straight into leveling up after such a brutal fight. I knew I was emotionally unstable from the stress—it was obvious I’d make careless mistakes if forced into action now.
It was the same back in Japan. I’d mess up at work, get frustrated, try to blow off steam with games, only to fail there too and end up even more stressed.
That experience warned me, and combined with the feeling that I’d been overworking lately, I’d decided to take it easy today.
So of course, the timing of his arrival made me brace myself—was this another problem!? Especially since he’d brought Lotus and Lady Esmeralda with him. It was hard to imagine this was just a casual visit.
When I shot a skeptical glare at the two behind him, they responded with awkward smiles, nodding as if to confirm the Duke’s words weren’t a lie.
"Just a conversation, that’s all." "Good. I figured you’d want to know how things turned out, considering your involvement. I thought about having Lotus explain, but it’s only right I tell you myself."
Recovery magic really is convenient. Despite being poisoned and severely injured, just a few days were enough for us to sit here and talk like this.
The fact that he’d been assessing the situation probably meant he’d been working even during his recovery.
Only Ingrid and I were in the living room. Nel, Amina, and Claudia had gone out shopping.
We could’ve asked someone on the estate to provide food, but we preferred to live independently.
"Now, let’s start with the assassins sent after us."
Though honestly, the real reason the other three had gone out was likely to give me some peace—just not leaving me entirely alone.
My lazy day off had now turned into a debriefing session thanks to the Duke’s visit. But since I was curious about the details myself, hearing them now meant I could relax properly afterward.
"You identified them?" "No. We only confirmed that we couldn’t uncover anything beyond what you told us." "......" "Don’t look at me like that. Tracking someone whose name is known but face isn’t is no easy task."
There was definitely a mastermind behind this, but they weren’t careless enough to leave an obvious trail. Well, we did grab hold of something—just not enough to trace it back.
"Doesn’t that mean we have to stay on guard for retaliation?" "No, I doubt we’ll need to worry about that for a while."
Even though we couldn’t trace the trail further, the Duke insisted we’d be safe.
"What do you mean? We didn’t get any information on them, right?" "Not none. We gleaned enough to guess their general direction and possible affiliations. And they’ll know we’re alert now."
So my intel had given them some leads after all.
"Plus, the fact that they sent elite operatives means they’ll be cautious too. If these were disposable pawns, it’d be different, but the ones they mobilized this time were likely close to their best. They’ll be shaken and lying low for now." "They can’t just replace someone like him easily, right?" "Exactly. That’s why we should be safe for a while."
I’d assumed successfully fending them off would invite retaliation, but instead, losing their trump card had made them too wary to act.
"But doesn’t that still leave us in danger?" "Let me ask you this, Liberta. If you were told the elite assassin you sent was taken down by a child, would you believe it?" "......" "Any sane person would assume one of my agents did it. The most likely candidate would be Priestess Claudia, but given her position in the Church, targeting her would risk divine retribution."
I’d still been uneasy, but the Duke’s point hit me.
I was still a child—and in this world, children weren’t exactly seen as formidable.
Imagine reporting that a kid had defeated a notorious assassin like the Mad Jester. Even if the spies who saw it reported honestly, the idea was so absurd that anyone who hadn’t witnessed it would struggle to believe it.
Nel had beaten Ares in the arena, but would that report be taken at face value either?
In modern Japan, camera footage might make it slightly more believable, but given how nobles here thought, no one would accept that a child had won. They’d sooner assume a powerful ally had intervened.
"We have the informational advantage. Since we’re not making the truth public, they’ll try to investigate us." "And we’ll catch them when they do?" "Exactly. Why let such an opportunity slip?"
The Duke needed to find out why the Mad Jester had been sent. For now, I could accept that.
"Changing the subject—what happened to his body?" "We called priests from the Church, purified it, burned it to ashes, then soaked the remains in holy water before scattering them."
As an individual, I couldn’t investigate the Mad Jester’s connections—that’d be like poking a hornet’s nest. That was a job for someone with an organization.
So instead, I asked about the body, since I was worried about resurrection.
"I’m surprised you followed through so thoroughly." "Your concerns weren’t unfounded. I felt that madness firsthand. I had Lotus oversee every step."
In FBO, revival magic existed—the kind that worked if cast before respawn, like in most games. But I wasn’t sure how resurrection magic functioned in this world.
"Revival magic is considered a legendary, ultimate spell even by the Church. I was shocked when you warned me to be wary of it." "I didn’t think no one would have it."
If the learning conditions were the same as in FBO, it made sense. That skill required completing a special quest.
The recommended level was mid-tier Class 7, though with the right gear, late-tier Class 5 could attempt it—just at much higher difficulty.
For now, there were three resurrection methods to watch out for.
First, the standard revival magic.
"Still, it’s best to stay cautious. Though with necromancers, we destroyed the body entirely and had the Church purify the soul, so that shouldn’t be an issue."
Second, necromancers—a build in FBO focused on taming and strengthening undead. They specialized in dark magic, leaving them weak to light, but their undead minions could inflict status effects, making them formidable.
That said, even necromancers couldn’t truly bring back the dead. They were more like a variant of monster tamers.
One NPC had spent sixty years researching it to revive a lover, but even they failed. True resurrection was impossible in FBO—revival magic was just an advanced form of healing.
"The last troublesome method is homunculus creation by fallen alchemists. But I’d like to believe no one’s insane enough to try extracting his DNA from dirt." "As a precaution, we covered the scattered ashes with fresh soil. It should be impossible to recover anything now." "You never know. There are always madmen who’ll go to extremes for results."
The third method was homunculi—artificial humans. This was a common trope among villain NPCs trying to play god.
Creating life was considered divine territory, a taboo. But cults of evil gods didn’t care for such rules.
They’d happily conduct insane experiments to forge new bodies for their deities.
I had no desire to fight that guy again, hence my thorough suggestions to prevent resurrection.
With the Mad Jester’s case settled, I could relax—for now.
"Next is—" "My turn, I suppose."
Further investigation would be left to the Duke’s intelligence team. The next topic was the broken engagement and its connection to the Mad Jester.
"Honestly, this isn’t looking good either. The other family denies involvement in the assassination, but we can’t just take their word for it."
After nearly being killed by their hired hand, doing nothing wasn’t an option. They were being thoroughly investigated.
"That said, it seems likely they were used as well." "The assassination attempt was too sloppy, right?" "Yes. It’d be generous to call it deliberate."
This wasn’t going well either.
"But can the investigation proceed? Our side demanded permanent exile from the continent, right?" "Shin is handling their side. He’s already been sent wailing back to his homeland’s embassy on the western continent. As for Lily... well, I hope she’s safe."
Noble disputes were never simple, but Lady Esmeralda, ever the noblewoman, showed no mercy.
The way she hid her smile behind a fan reminded me of a villainess. Not that it mattered to me.
They brought this on themselves. Let them curse their own recklessness.