Chapter 19: The Fire
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: The Fire
Endure today.
A cycle of training and practice.
That was Encrid’s existence.
And in all his repetitions of this day, this was the first time he had ever made it this far.
Is she going to kill me?
That was his first thought upon seeing the company commander’s reaction. But Encrid quickly corrected himself.
If she wanted me dead, she would have finished it earlier.
When had Krang slipped away?
He hadn't sensed even a trace of the man's presence.
Tsk.
Even in a situation like this...
I’m still lacking.
Encrid felt the inadequacy of his trained hearing. It was simply his nature to strive for more. Because of that self-reflection, he missed his cue to answer.
The newly appointed company commander, an elven woman, was staring intently at him.
Had she said, "You survived?"
How was he supposed to respond to that?
Encrid opened his mouth. "…Was I supposed to die?"
"Well, no," the company commander replied, her lips barely moving.
She stared at Encrid for a long moment before finally turning away. She retrieved the poisoned needle from the ground and checked the condition of Vengeance and the freckled sentry she had brought along, peeling back their eyelids.
She’s making sure the soldiers aren't dead.
Then, she brought the poisoned needle to her lips and lightly touched it to her tongue.
She knows her herbalism.
He had occasionally seen veteran mercenaries do the same. Since many elves were close to nature, it was highly plausible for her to be well-versed in toxins and medicine.
Encrid simply watched, remaining slumped on the ground. He was in no mood to stand up. Of course, if someone targeted his neck right now, he would still find the strength to roll or flip away, but exhaustion was exhaustion.
While it wasn't as physically punishing as the very first time he had repeated this day, this loop was equally draining in a different way. If the first time had depleted his physical strength, this time felt like he had scraped the absolute bottom of his mental fortitude.
Relying solely on sound, he had dodged a flurry of consecutive attacks. He hadn't received a single scratch in the process.
Naturally, it was no fluke.
How many times had he been killed before this success? Though he had often been taken out without sensing a thing, there were several loops where he had barely managed to dodge the first strike.
Patterns are eventually learned through repetition. And the assassin’s movements had a pattern. Encrid had instinctively committed it to memory.
Just because I’ve done this once before...
...did that make the second time easier?
No. It was by no means easy.
If anyone had witnessed the "today" that Encrid had repeated—if they had stood by his side through every failure—they would never say such a thing.
But there was no such person. In this isolated "today," he was always alone.
Still sitting, Encrid pressed his fingers firmly against his temples. His adrenaline was still pumping, causing his head to throb. A full-blown headache would surely set in soon; he knew the signs instinctively.
Sensing someone suddenly thrusting something toward his neck from the side, Encrid instinctively twisted his body and thrust his palm out.
There, he saw Krang, mimicking a chop to Encrid’s neck with the edge of his hand.
"Do you really have eyes in the back of your head?" Krang asked, sounding genuinely impressed.
"I don't think this is the time for jokes."
What a carefree bastard.
Krang chuckled, his tone perfectly relaxed. "Ah, my bad."
Was the assassin really targeting this guy?
If so, why didn't they just kill him? Why start with me?
Was it just bad luck? Was it truly nothing more than sheer misfortune?
Not a chance.
First of all, Krang must have been the target. No matter how he looked at it, sending an assassin for Vengeance and himself made absolutely no sense.
If it were just me and Vengeance, it would be much easier to frame us and have us executed.
Why deploy an assassin just to deal with two powerless soldiers? There was no need.
The point of an assassin was to clean things up without making a sound—to finish the job quietly, leaving no room for anyone to raise a fuss.
As for the bodies? They could just set the tent on fire. Who would care about stab wounds on a charred corpse? Even without fire, there were plenty of ways to dispose of a body. They could clean up the blood and tracks, then dump the corpses in some remote area. People would assume they deserted; no one would launch a serious investigation into kidnapping or murder for low-ranking soldiers.
Furthermore, this was a medical tent on the outskirts. It wasn't quarters for officers, but a mere temporary shelter for commoners. A place no one paid much attention to.
Though, of course, it wasn't a place just anyone could waltz into, either.
"They were probably after me."
Just as the company commander finished tidying up the interior and peeked outside the tent, Krang, squatting beside Encrid, casually spoke up.
"Hmm, why?"
"You don't seem very surprised."
"I am surprised. Plenty."
"You've got a great poker face."
Is this really what you should be focusing on right now?
Encrid opened his mouth to scold him but stopped himself. He had spent enough time with Krang to know the guy was naturally easygoing.
Though he probably steps up when it counts.
Since it was a "today" that had already passed, Krang wouldn't remember it, but the image of Krang delivering that speech—drawing in everything around him like a black hole—remained deeply engraved in Encrid’s mind.
"I assume you have no intention of telling me who you are?" the company commander asked. She had approached soundlessly before they even noticed.
Krang gave a casual nod. "So, anyway, I’m sorry."
He calls that an apology?
Having said his piece, Krang stood up. He scanned his surroundings once, then locked eyes with the company commander.
"Since I’m not in a position to give orders to anyone, I shall ask it as a favor."
Krang spoke informally not just to Vengeance, but to the company commander as well. He couldn't possibly do this unless he was a high-ranking noble. Otherwise, he wouldn't have any right to complain even if he got stabbed to death on the spot.
And he wasn't just talking.
One step.
He took only a single step forward, but it was just like that time. An atmosphere identical to when Encrid had asked him about his identity settled over them.
Krang quietly held her gaze.
Two audience members, one actor. Yet that actor was like a vortex—a greedy force that sucked in and swallowed everything around him.
"May I ask this of you? I will consider it a debt and repay it."
"Please do," the company commander replied, clasping her hands in a respectful bow.
Krang spoke with a gentle smile. "I would prefer if no one else died today."
It was quiet yet firm, calm yet tempestuous. If a voice could possess magic, this was surely what it would sound like. It was a tone and cadence that made one desperately want to grant his wish.
How could he make someone feel this way?
Encrid felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Naturally, because he had experienced this once before.
The vortex that had drawn in everything around it vanished in an instant. Krang reached out a hand to Encrid.
"Your legs gave out, didn't they?"
"No, not quite."
With a complicated mix of emotions, Encrid took his hand.
"…Is this why you changed your mind?" the company commander asked, watching the two of them.
"Let's go with that," Krang replied.
Encrid couldn't understand a single word of their exchange. Not that he had any desire to ask.
It’s not like they’d tell me anyway.
The company commander let out a soft sigh and turned to Encrid. "Can you keep quiet about what happened today?"
"Yes, of course."
She asked with an intensity that suggested she would pierce his throat on the spot if he said no, so how could he possibly give any other answer? He had caught a glimpse of the new company commander’s skills earlier. It was only a single move, but...
To think she could deflect it like that.
A single strike, parrying outward with the back of her hand. With just one gesture, Encrid had lost his balance and tumbled. If possible, he wanted to see it again and again.
If so, all he had to do was die. He just had to repeat today.
What if he refused to keep quiet here? Would she not kill him? No, that wouldn't work. There were plenty of ways to silence someone without killing them. It was a pointless endeavor. Besides, he had no desire to commit suicide on purpose.
"I’m counting on you."
Above all, Krang was asking him. Though it had only been a few days and a handful of conversations, Encrid felt a deep bond had already formed with Krang. Regardless of how little time they had spent together, the intimacy between them was strangely profound.
"Keeping my mouth shut is my specialty."
It wasn't an empty boast. How many secrets did he already hold within the squad? Some were crucial, others trivial. But he had never uttered a word of them to anyone.
"Then we just need to resolve this situation," the company commander spoke, looking at the torn tent and the two collapsed soldiers.
"My wish for no more deaths includes those two as well," Krang said.
The company commander nodded nonchalantly. As of now, no one else knew what had transpired here. But if they found out? Judging by the atmosphere, revealing Krang’s identity would cause complications.
The company commander was deep in thought.
"When that sentry wakes up, will he even know he was attacked?" Encrid asked, brushing the dirt off his backside.
"I doubt it. Even if he does, he wouldn't have seen anything," the company commander spoke with near certainty.
Encrid agreed. How many times had he himself been taken out without knowing a thing? That freckle-faced sentry had likely blacked out without a clue.
In that case...
"Could you carry one of them out on your back?"
At Encrid’s words, the company commander turned to look at him.
"I have a simple and convenient solution. Though, I might end up taking some flak for it. I’m sure you can shield me from that, Company Commander."
He explained his plan. Hearing it, Krang laughed, while the company commander nodded with a straight face.
*
Roar!
"Huh?"
The sentry standing guard in front of the tent, who had been dozing off, suddenly opened his eyes as a stinging heat pricked his cheek. He felt a warm wave of heat rolling in from somewhere. Still half-asleep, he turned his head to the side and instantly froze.
Fire?
It was a fire. Flames licking the front of the tent surged upward, scattering embers into the air.
Clack.
The sound of his spear slipping from his grasp and clattering onto the ground jolted him wide awake.
"F-Fire! Fire! Fire!"
The soldier screamed. In his panic, his tongue tied itself in knots. He didn't even manage to yell "Fire's broken out!"—he just repeated the word "fire" over and over. Yet his voice was so frantic that it pierced straight into the ears of everyone nearby.
"Fire!" a patrol sentry nearby bellowed, clarifying the situation. "The medical tent is on fire!"
"Get water!"
Only then did other soldiers begin poking their heads out one by one, taking in the scene.
"Damn it, what about inside the tent?"
"Was anyone in there?"
"Yeah, that fucking soldier!"
The fire, which had started only at the front of the tent, quickly climbed upward and engulfed the entire structure. Chaos erupted in the dead of night. Black soot and smoke billowed into the sky. Even the bravest of soldiers wouldn't dare step inside in this state.
"I said, get some water!" among them, the Supply Company Commander shrieked.
Those moving quickly brought back buckets filled with water.
Splash!
They threw the water onto the flames. For a moment, smoke billowed, but...
"Form a bucket brigade!" the Supply Company Commander barked. He was putting his experience of hauling cargo to good use.
The crowd of soldiers formed a long line, passing the water buckets forward.
Clatter!
Some idiot even dropped a bucket on the ground.
"Are you kidding me? Pick it up, fast!"
"Understood, sir!"
Commotion ensued. The flames illuminated the soldiers' faces. The Supply Company Commander stamped his feet in anxiety. The burning tent itself wasn't the main issue; if the fire spread to the adjacent tents, it would be an absolute disaster. To him, the fire spreading was a far greater concern than a few soldiers dying inside.
As the bucket brigade slowly brought the flames under control, the Supply Company Commander let out a silent sigh of relief.
But why a fire all of a sudden?
Was this even the season for fires? The weather wasn't nearly dry enough for this. Fortunately, the fire didn't spread sideways. As if it had been waiting for this exact outcome, the flames died down after completely consuming just the one tent.
"There are people over there!" amidst the chaos, a soldier with good night vision shouted.
"Bring them over. It's a relief if they're alive," the Supply Company Commander uttered words he didn't mean. To him, the fire not spreading was a hundred times more of a relief than their survival.
*
Encrid laid the freckled soldier down next to Platoon Leader Vengeance, whom the company commander had already moved outside.
"Over here!"
As he shouted, people rushed over.
"Are you alright?"
"A fire out of nowhere..."
"What happened?"
With soot smeared all over his face, Encrid coughed and wheezed. To anyone looking, he was clearly a man who had just barely escaped a burning tent.
"I... cough... wheeze... don't really know either," Encrid managed to speak between coughs.
The midnight fire was ultimately ruled an accident.
*
Hoo-hoo.
The hooting of an owl echoed from afar, likely coming from the forest.
Listening to the sound, the elven company commander mapped her current position against the layout in her head and set her course. It was a gravelly stream bank, not too far from the camp.
Reaching her destination, the company commander spoke. "If not for that squad leader, things would have been dangerous."
Just by examining the tent, the company commander had deduced the assassin’s intent. Eliminate the guard at the entrance, then immediately dispatch the target.
And the one at the entrance had been Encrid. Thanks to him, they survived. If he had held out even a moment less, they would have died. Both he and the person she was guarding would have perished.
"Is that so?" Krang murmured, taking a deep breath before letting it out.
The company commander turned away from him. "Well then."
It was a simple, dry farewell. The light, nimble steps characteristic of the elven race made not even the faintest sound. Her current post was the 4th Company Commander of the 4th Battalion, Cypress Division. It was time to return to camp.
Stepping into the darkness, the elf quickly vanished from sight.
Watching her go, Krang recalled Encrid’s dream.
A knight, huh.
"Seeing you makes me feel like I finally have a grasp on how I should live my life."
Krang had replied thus after hearing Encrid’s dream. Those were not empty words. Krang might deceive others, but he never spoke falsely to someone who approached him with sincerity.
Krang harbored a secret regarding his birth. He despised both his lineage and the secret itself. It was something he had spent his entire life running from, but...
I, too, shall face it.
He had recognized Encrid’s skill at a single glance. And yet, such a man dreamed of becoming a knight. Five out of ten passersby would call that dream absurd. The other five would be too busy laughing.
Even so, he dreamed. He would not give up.
Though it had only been a few days, watching Encrid silently clench and unclench his fists over and over gave Krang an intuitive feeling that this man would never waver. A person like that did not change easily.
"He really was an interesting fellow."
A strange sense of closeness lingered. The clouds above Krang’s head parted, and the moonlight began to peek through once more.
He walked. A life slightly different from the one he had lived so far would be waiting for him ahead.