Ch.146Report on the Downfall of Diligence (11)

Jakob was a pathetic man.

Being a serf didn’t excuse his wretchedness. Having nothing, being unable to possess anything, and destined to farm until death—none of this justified his pathetic nature.

A man who did nothing but waited for life to change, a drifter who lamented that he would have lived better if only he’d been born to better parents. That was Jakob.

Yet even he had a special talent: keen observation. When the con artist Hans and his crew put on a mediocre performance, unlike the other children, Jakob noticed their tricks.

‘That iron bar the strongman broke after drinking his “strength potion”—it was pre-cut, wasn’t it? Just lightly glued together.’

Instead of answering, Hans offered him a bottle of moonshine, and that’s how Jakob joined Hans’s crew. The cruel god had punished a man who never even tried, with the gift of a new life.

Hans was a scoundrel. With a small taste of power, he raged like a rabid dog. But even Hans had a soft spot for Jakob.

When others would beat someone three times, Hans would hit them only once. When drunk and throwing things, he’d slam them to the ground if he spotted Jakob.

Jakob could read and write, wasn’t consumed by alcohol, and though lazy, possessed a sound mind.

He didn’t scream in his sleep, wasn’t a pervert who got excited by choking women, and understood that you had to pay when dealing with strangers. He was a valuable asset in the circus.

A timid, insecure man. The type who was so desperate for approval that he’d not only bow down but roll over and expose his belly at the slightest praise.

Ironically, this made Jakob good at his job. The circus clerk. Financial management. Supply management.

While living disguised as the diligent Hans, Jakob received numerous favors. He was a hopeless social climber. But while he accepted money, food, valuables, and luxuries, he never accepted women.

“It’s not just because I love my wife. She’s also part of Hans’s crew.” Jakob gave a bitter smile. “Only my two children know nothing.”

“What did Hans do? What did he do that makes you live under his control like this?”

“Hans is a frightening person.” Jakob trembled.

“But this—this one thing—me living Hans’s life while Hans lives as Brother Theodore—this wasn’t forced on me. I chose it. You know? The Demon King’s Wasteland? I was too scared to even step foot at its entrance.”

“…I know. The Shadow’s mist covers it, drawing out people’s deepest fears.”

Jakob couldn’t even take a step before collapsing at the very beginning. That’s why he felt guilty toward Hans.

“Though I was constantly berated, Hans’s circus was still my family. It was the only place that accepted me as a human being. I know I was just a pig back in my hometown. But doesn’t even a pig deserve to be treated like a person?”

Kain silently nodded. Jakob continued his confession, mixed with sighs and tears.

“Hans dragged me along no matter what. He let me receive even cheap applause. But when Hans broke through the Shadow and advanced to the very end, I couldn’t do anything. I just, just carried luggage.”

The words “that wasn’t your fault” tickled Kain’s throat, but he deliberately suppressed them. Now was the time for Jakob to speak. Sentiments could be shared after the story ended.

“But I really did pray a lot. Those circus fools, especially that bastard Hans—though he deserved to be cursed three times over, I prayed that at least their lives would be spared.

Ha, ha. They really were just barely spared. Most of the circus people lost their minds, and half of the survivors took their own lives. Hans? Hans became a hero, but no. He became something more than a hero, something greater.”

“What did Hans become?”

Jakob shook his head violently. Even recalling it seemed to frighten him. Kain nodded in understanding.

“When Hans returned alive, I was truly happy. Though he wasn’t like a father, he was like an uncle to me. I was so happy I cried like a child.

But Hans just stared at me blankly. Like a stranger? No. No. Like someone whose soul was in another world, with tightly closed pupils. ‘Don’t you want to do something good?’ he asked.”

“What did he mean?”

“Exactly what he said. ‘You’ve lived your whole life unable to act like a real man. And you’ll continue to do so. But if you do as I say, you can live comfortably for the rest of your life. The condition is to keep your mouth shut. Can you do that?’

I told you. It wasn’t coercion. He just gave me a choice. If I had said no, he would have backed off. But I said I could do it.

I thought I should grant whatever he asked. I felt guilty for sending Hans there alone, and I couldn’t face the other comrades. They all lasted at least a week after joining the crusade, but I collapsed right away.”

Jakob’s life completely changed after that. The diligent Hans remained as Brother Theodore, and Jakob became Hans. He married a woman from the circus without love, maintained a relationship without pleasure, and lived as the diligent Delegate Hans.

“I can’t do it anymore. I just can’t. I told Theodore many times. Honestly, it would have been better if he had beaten me, if he had cursed at me. But he just stared at me blankly. As if I were saying, ‘The sun rose in the west!’

Instead, he said this: ‘You’re doing well. You’re doing very well, so don’t worry.’ I really couldn’t stand it. Really.”

“Because of the pressure of not knowing when you might be discovered?”

“No.” Jakob wiped his tears and sobbed quietly.

“Because every time I heard those words, I felt unbearably good. Even though it was miserable and nauseating. Those words. Those words felt disgustingly good.”

Kain, who had been listening quietly, lowered his knife. Of course, he didn’t let go of it, keeping it ready for any emergency.

“No. You weren’t like that.”

“Huh…?”

“Those words you said in the office. I just let them pass at the time, but thinking about it now, they were all words of distress. You were asking for help. Am I wrong?”

“Uh…” Jakob stammered.

“Let me be honest. I’ve done quite a bit of background research. I know how many favors you’ve received. I could write down who gave you what and how much right now. But I’ve never heard that you did a poor job. I haven’t heard that you did well either. That’s a great virtue for a city politician.”

“…Me? Really, did I do well?”

The corners of the man’s mouth rose pitifully. But Kain nodded. He had no desire to comfort Jakob’s life. Nor did he want to humor him just to dig out Hans’s true identity.

“You performed the role of delegate quite well. You didn’t receive criticism or praise, but that alone makes you one of the top politicians.”

Because that was the truth.

Jakob covered his face and bent over. A groan that belonged to neither human nor beast escaped his lips. Yet Kain thought he was laughing while crying.

* * * * *

It took a little more time for him to calm down. Jakob calmly told the rest of the story. After receiving a letter from William the Chaste, Hans had become much more gloomy and somber than before.

He spent more days going in and out of villages on the outskirts of the city and showed little enthusiasm for the shelter project. Grace’s complaints increased because of this, but Hans didn’t care.

“What exactly happened?”

But Jakob didn’t answer Kain’s question. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he hesitated.

Had he gained courage after crying? Or was it because he sensed that Kain meant him no harm? Despite being a cowardly and lazy man, the knowledge he had accumulated to maintain his fake identity, his sense, his innate perceptiveness—all were bolstering Jakob’s spirits.

That’s why Jakob became bold for the first time since leaving his hometown of his own will.

“Um. Hey. You won’t hurt me, will you? Because what you want from me is information.”

Kain tilted his head. Interpreting this as affirmation, Jakob cleared his throat.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Well, you see. I know you’re neither on the Demon King’s side nor the Pope’s side… Eek!”

His courage shrank before the dagger. Kain pointed the knife at him, ready to stab his neck if necessary.

“Speak clearly. What do you mean?”

“W-well. F-first of all, you c-can’t be the Demon King’s minion. If you knew everything, you would have caught and punished the real Hans, not me.”

Sweat began to pour profusely from Jakob’s forehead again. But the man was no longer afraid.

“And, and the Order is after you. If my thinking is correct, that short person driving this carriage now, that person is the Red-footed woman. Right? You’re a man with black hair and brown eyes who escaped from the Monastery of St. Georgios…”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Hans is the one who ordered your capture. I know that the Holy Grail Knights and clergy from the Order kept coming to see Hans. The abbot of the Monastery of St. Georgios sent a letter. Saying that prisoners were being transported.”

The abbot. Kain remembered his face. ‘So that’s where the information leaked from.’ And what that meant was obvious.

“How much control does the diligent Hans have over the Order?”

But Jakob was stubborn.

“A-answer me first. Th-this is a deal. You, you need to hear what I have to say. Right?”

“Damn it, do you want your head cut off!”

“C-cut it off.” Jakob was even smiling now.

“D-do as you please. I’ve been expecting a day like this to come. I’ve been waiting for the day I’d be stripped naked in the middle of the grand plaza and denounced as a fake. And I know.

You, you are someone who has the power to do that. Or you have someone powerful behind you. And you’re neither on the Demon King’s side nor the Pope’s. And you said you were a ‘merchant from the capital.’ Then, you’re not the Elector’s man. You’re the Emperor’s man. Right?”

A perceptive coward. Jakob was crying. Kain was the one who became perplexed. He had encountered numerous villains and good people before, but this was the first time he had dealt with someone like this.

“What difference does it make if I admit that?”

“I don’t care if I die,” Jakob sobbed. “The same goes for my wife. But my children. Please let my children live. They really don’t know anything. I’ll, I’ll beg like this. I’ll beg like this…”

The man frantically rubbed his hands, which were as swollen as a pig’s feet.

“Please spare my children at least. If you keep that promise, I’ll tell you everything. Please. Can you promise me that?”