After I handed Wifey over to Piggett, the Imperial Guard grabbed me and hauled me off to the hospital.\n\nI’d lost count of how many times I’d ended up there.\n\nApparently, while I was semi-conscious, I’d been muttering something about killing those Zork bastards.\n\nWell, if I saw someone in that state, I’d grab them and hand them over to the ER, too.\n\nLuckily, this time my injuries were minor enough for nanomachines to fix, even if I did have some broken bones. My stay in the hospital was mandatory.\n\nWifey was fast asleep in a cot they’d set up next to my bed, her breathing soft and rhythmic. She’d drifted off right after I explained that I was being hospitalized. Man, quite a lot of time had passed... No wonder she was tired.\n\nMaybe it was because I’d drifted in and out of consciousness, but I wasn't sleepy at all. Or rather, my shoulder hurt way too much for me to sleep.\n\n"Are you awake, Leo?"\n\nThe Fairy spoke up.\n\n"I'm awake."\n\nMy throat was parched. I wanted to go get a drink.\n\n"I’m going to grab something to drink. We can talk after that, okay?"\n\n"That’s fine by me~"\n\nI tried to sit up... but the resin cast stabilizing my shoulder was in the way, making it a struggle just to move. It seemed the way the bone had snapped this time was particularly nasty.\n\n"Hrrngh!"\n\nI rolled over.\n\nI tried again, this time putting some momentum into it.\n\n"Hrrngh!"\n\nI managed to haul myself up somehow.\n\n"Pfft! You look like a turtle!"\n\n"Shut it!"\n\nUsing the heart rate monitor as a makeshift cane, I dragged my feet and tottered out into the hallway. Wait, it felt like other parts of me were broken, too. Even my abs were screaming.\n\nAs soon as I stepped into the corridor, several Imperial Guard members acting as sentries immediately intercepted me.\n\n"What are you doing?! Don’t move yet!"\n\n"No, I’m just thirsty..."\n\n"We’ll get it for you! Just stay put!"\n\nThey sent me back to my room. Lying back down in bed hurt even more. How miserable.\n\n"Nyahahaha! You got caught!"\n\nThe Fairy was howling with laughter. She was a creature without a shred of blood or tears. ...Actually, she didn't have either to begin with.\n\n"Since you’ve given me a good laugh, let’s get to the main point. Brigadier General Scott’s life has been saved."\n\n"That’s a relief."\n\n"But his injuries are severe. He won’t be able to move for at least a month."\n\n"Still, it’s better than dying."\n\n"Now, as for you, Leo. I heard the shard came dangerously close to your heart. Man, that was a major surgery."\n\n"Huh? Then how am I still alive?"\n\n"Oh? You didn't realize? You have Continuous Healing active at all times. It's what's known as Auto-recovery."\n\nWhoa... I was starting to become a literal monster. This probably wasn’t even because I was a Sage. Slow and Psychokinesis were both within the scope of a Jester’s abilities as well.\n\nWithout the RPG restrictions, the Jester's power was abnormal. Its only real flaw was a lack of firepower. It was the absolute pinnacle of being a jack of all trades, master of none. A Sage was just the Class Change that added firepower to that foundation.\n\n"Won’t that accelerate my aging?"\n\n"Since your cells are constantly being replaced by young ones without any genetic defects, I think your aging will actually be slowed down."\n\n"Have I stopped being human?"\n\n"High-level Espers are just like that."\n\nEven if it was rare, it was still a starting class—the so-called Gadabout. They shouldn't be that uncommon. It was just that very few people realized they were Jesters. Most people who took the tests were probably just judged as being 'disappointing Espers.'\n\n"What about the Zork I took down?"\n\n"The Zork was a Female-type. Investigation revealed that she was actually the eldest son of Duke Sato from the Duke Association."\n\nI guessed that meant Duke Sato’s eldest son had been turned into a girl. Kevin seemed to be handling it well, but if a normal guy suddenly became a woman, the shock alone would probably be enough to turn him into a nihilistic killer. Plus, there were the non-human components to consider. I’d nearly been killed, but I felt a tiny bit of sympathy for him. Kevin, who lived normally as a girl, was just the outlier!\n\n"What about Duke Sato?"\n\n"He went missing during the expedition. He’s presumed dead."\n\n"And Alexia?"\n\nThat woman had definitely been radiating bloodlust toward me. She was suspicious as hell, but there was no evidence. Actually, it didn't matter. I could just take her down even without evidence. I was running out of patience; maybe I should just go for it!\n\n...Then again, I didn't want her going on a mindless rampage in the middle of the city. Or starting a Coup d'etat. The other side was definitely plotting something. There were countless ways left for them to screw with us... I wondered what they were thinking.\n\n"Do you have any idea what the Alexia Faction is planning?"\n\n"Who knows? It’s all so irrational that I can’t make sense of it."\n\n"Then, what would you do if you were in their shoes, Fairy?"\n\n"Let’s see. I would admit defeat for the moment and withdraw all the Zork. Then, I’d assign a Female-type Zork to you or your descendants to contaminate the Jester bloodline with the Zork factor. After that, I’d just wait, letting the line multiply, and once the contaminated Jesters reached about ten percent of the Imperial population, I’d form a New Human Army and initiate an Old Humanity Extinction Operation..."\n\n"That’s way too malicious!"\n\nThe Fairy was the one person I should never make an enemy of. She was too dangerous!\n\n"The problem with that plan is that the Zork would also have to accept the human bloodline. If that happened, the weak old models would inevitably be weeded out by selfish genes. In other words, the Zork would effectively go extinct as well..."\n\nBoth sides would be wiped out. Was she a demon?\n\n"No matter how you look at it, it was a strategic blunder for the Zork to make themselves compatible with humans~"\n\nThe Fairy cackled.\n\n"When you think about it, the end of this war isn't about whether humans or Zork go extinct. It’s a war over whether Zork-type humans or human-type Zork survive."\n\nUgh... what a horrible thought. But this was just a whim of the Fairy’s. I wanted to believe it was a massive exaggeration.\n\n"So, putting the end of the war aside, what about Alexia?"\n\n"She’s at an Evening Party with Walter right now. But naturally, after the incident at the memorial service, they’re being roasted from all directions."\n\nWere they complete idiots? Being that tone-deaf was actually impressive in a terrifying way. Even for an airhead, shouldn't her allies be abandoning her about now?\n\n"Yo, I’m coming in."\n\nAn Imperial Guard member returned with a drink. I’d wanted a sports drink. The can of sweet red bean soup mixed in there was probably some kind of joke. I took a sip of the sports drink and immediately choked.\n\n"Ah, you moron! Drink slowly!"\n\n"Cough! Right."\n\nAwakened by the noise, Wifey opened her eyes.\n\n"Lord Groom?"\n\n"Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"\n\n"Lord Groom!!! You absolute dummy! You’re always, always on the verge of death!"\n\nShe burst into tears. The old guys from the Imperial Guard started whistling and teasing us.\n\n"Whoo-hoo! Get a room!"\n\nWhat are you lot, a bunch of elementary schoolers?"}