Ladle Man

"Rance, reacting to Ladle Man."

- Ghahh... What the fuck are you?!

About
Ladle Man is a strange, enigmatic and disturbing individual dressed in nothing but an apron that wanders The Continent carrying a gigantic ladle with him at all times. While he resembles a severely emaciated human male, he lacks both a Level Cap and Skill Levels, suggesting that he is a different creature entirely.

Nearly everything about him is unknown, though he is known to possess a sinister and unsettling air that stirs fear in the hearts of everyone he interacts with. He is seemingly always calm and happy, even in the face of death.

During the events of Rance 01, Rance faced him in the Leazas Coliseum before facing Yulang Mirage. While Ladle Man put up a decent fight against the brutal warrior, he was ultimately defeated and played no other role in the story.

He appears again in Rance 5D, mysteriously living inside of Genbu Castle and managing a love hotel. It is not known how he entered the pocket dimension, though he had apparently been living in it long enough to establish his own love hotel within it. Despite his off-putting aura, the hotel he runs is well-maintained and fairly luxurious, though it rarely gets any business due to the lack of people living inside the Castle. Rance's party stayed at the hotel per Rizna Lanfebit's request, but Rance found the price for staying of 900 GOLD to be too high, and instead killed Ladle Man and stayed for free. Despite this, Rance's party can return to the hotel's location to find both it and its manager to be perfectly fine, causing Rance to believe that he had become a Ghost, which Ladle Man denies.

Abilities
Ladle Man is perhaps most notable for his ability to perform the Hanny Flash, the signature technique of the Haniwa. How he gained the capability to use this move is unknown, though it is possible that it was bestowed to him by the Hanny King, similarly to how Rizna Lanfebit acquired the Hanny's absolute magic resistance.

Besides the Hanny Flash, he relies on his large ladle, which he wields as a club, to defeat his enemies in battle. He is a decently strong fighter, and was capable of reaching a high standing in the Leazas Coliseum, though his strength isn't particularly high when compared to seasoned warriors such as Yulang Mirage.

Beyond his fighting abilities, Ladle Man seems to have supernatural powers of some sort, being able to enter a pocket dimension designed to be inescapable, as well as apparently resurrecting himself from death. No explanation is given for how he is capable of doing either of these things and they remain a mystery, much like the rest of his character.

Trivia

 * He is the only non-Haniwa creature capable of performing the Hanny Flash.
 * Concept art of him exists in the Rance IX art book, suggesting that he was at some point intended to appear in the game. Notably, he is not wearing his signature apron in this artwork.
 * He is referred to as "Gaydle Man" in the English translation of Rance 5D.