Jester.
Their very existence was a fickle, half-baked affair.
Take Big Brother Leo. He’d dodge beams after they were fired, rush to the side of any ally on the brink of death, and walk away from situations where he absolutely should have died. His survival instincts were beyond abnormal.
Basically, any group Leo considers an ally gets hit with every buff imaginable. Just having him there provides the continuous effect of a strategic-class weapon.
The downside? He has to be on the front lines. The range of the effect depends entirely on his subjective view. And despite his monstrous combat prowess, he’s constantly at death’s door himself.
But the biggest flaw is that everything—every single ability—is governed by his own perception.
Look at Alyssa. If she thinks for a second that she might lose, she weakens. She’s prone to negative thinking, so she can’t pull off the same ridiculous feats as Leo. Her growth has hit a wall.
And then there’s the third Jester: me.
I’ve used things like Teleportation before, but apparently, that wasn’t my actual power. I couldn’t even trigger it on purpose. In my case, I was a total outlier. What was I? Even I didn't know.
Well, whatever.
When the Zork War ended, I was promoted to Warrant Officer. They actually tried to make me a Second Lieutenant, but I told the brass, “I can’t even handle being a Master Sergeant,” so they settled on Warrant Officer.
Give me a break! If you saw some kid acting like a big-shot Master Sergeant, you’d probably punch them for no reason, right? Age matters! I didn’t want to get shot in the back by my own troops!
We reached a compromise: I’d be the Vice Commander of Sister Kevin’s Medic Squad. One-oh-one holds the rank of Marshal in the Republic Government-in-exile Army, but there’s no way a kid like her could actually run things. So, Big Sister Aoi acts as Commander and handles the day-to-day operations. That makes One-oh-one a Vice Commander in the Medic Squad too.
Even with the title, our job was mostly being gofers for the older ladies with nursing qualifications. I pushed a cart around in my crisp new medic uniform. It was loaded with stuff that usually gets in the way—nanomachine injections, IV drips, things I’d hauled from the warehouse. Even the Steward helped with the heavy lifting.
We entered the clinic.
“Yo! Warrant Officer Tatiana and Warrant Officer One-oh-one reporting with the supplies!”
“Put them there!”
“Got it!”
I washed up, disinfected, and masked up.
“What’s the situation-ssu?” I asked the veteran medic—aka the Head Nurse. She was a Master Sergeant with a nursing license, the kind who actually runs the show. Technically, she was our boss, and she was disciplining us with an iron fist.
“So far, just a few accidents from cargo handling. Keep your heads in the game!”
“Yes, Master Sergeant!”
Truth be told, a Warrant Officer ranks higher than a Master Sergeant on paper, but a veteran non-commissioned officer is the real power. The military doctor arrived too. Rank: Major with Special Job Status. I heard you need to be at least a Major to have a medical license. He’d been a student in the University Division's Faculty of Medicine before going through hell with Big Brother Leo. He started without a license but was forged into an emergency expert by the Veronica Squad’s doctors. Since the Kamishiro Squad’s casualty rate is astronomical, he’s probably got enough XP to fill a library.
As I was nodding in understanding—
“Vice Commander! Bring the medical kit!”
“Right!”
Not everyone has Leo’s ESP for auto-recovery. Get crushed by heavy machinery, and you die. Break a bone, and it takes time to heal. Leo’s the freak for getting discharged days after breaking his neck.
One-oh-one and I did what we could—taking temperatures, checking blood pressure. We weren't allowed near the syringes yet. Then, the ship's alarm blared.
“Vice Commander! Both of you, over here!”
“Yes!”
“Listen up. An Ogre God Nation destroyer was just sunk. We're taking on survivors. Brace yourselves—there’s going to be a lot of them.”
“G-got it!”
The patients started pouring in. We weren't strong enough to carry them ourselves, so we helped where we could.
“Vice Commander! Help!”
“Coming!”
The real medics were busy pumping nanomachines into the survivors. Luckily, aside from the horns, the Ogre God people have the same anatomy as us. The same nanomachines work. We hauled the supplies, but there were just too many. Their screams of pain filled the room.
That was when I remembered a battlefield I’d never seen. Pincers piercing my body. My head being crushed...
“Tatiana? What is wrong for sure!?”
...What was this? I couldn't breathe. Everything was going dark.
“T-Tatiana’s acting strange for sure!”
“Princess! This... this is Clone Syndrome!”
“What is that for sure!?”
“It’s when a clone recalls a death they never experienced. Their brain fabricates memories to fill the gap! She’s panicking! Lady Tatiana! That isn’t your memory! It never happened!”
I was supposed to be a different person from the old me, right? I couldn't breathe. I couldn't... Help me... Big Brother Leo.
『Huh? Tatiana? Is that telepathy?』
Big Brother! Help! I can't breathe! Everyone's going to die!
I could hear the Ogres suffering.
『I’m coming! Hang on!』
That was the moment my Jester ability blossomed. I guess it only happens when you're pushed to the absolute limit. Maybe that's why Alyssa's hasn't woken up yet.
“Big Brother Leo... lend it to me...”
My Jester ability—it just clicked. It was 【Mimicry】.
Teleportation had been borrowed from the Zork and One-oh-one. Now, I reached for the recovery power of the 【Elder】 sleeping inside Big Brother Leo. But I didn't just copy it. The essence of Mimicry is Exaggeration.
I triggered the power. Every wound in the room began to close. A wide-range Complete Restoration. Big Brother Leo couldn't even use this properly yet, but I could pull out its full potential!
“V-Vice Commander!”
“I get it now. I'm a fake. I'm not the old Tatiana. That’s why my power is Mimicry!”
“T-Tatiana! Are you okay for sure!?”
One-oh-one tackled me in a hug.
“You are not a fake for sure! The only Tatiana I know is this Tatiana for sure!”
“...Yeah. Sorry, One. My bad.”
I had someone who would be sad if I called myself a fake. I'd have to watch my mouth.
“Head Nurse.”
The Old Man Steward looked grave.
“Yeah... I’ll report this to the top.”
The Head Nurse called the military doctor. My shift was suspended. For some reason, I ended up as a patient in one of the beds.
Seriously? I already told them I'm fine.