Chapter 20: Squad Leader Encrid
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Squad Leader Encrid
Torch stands lined the gaps between the tents.
And inside the supply tent, there was oil.
Through the endless repetition of this same "today," Encrid had honed his hearing to a razor's edge. Even with his eyes closed, he could pinpoint his surroundings and locate exactly what he needed.
"I'll be right back."
It was a simple task.
He tracked the patrol soldiers' positions by sound, slipping into the supply tent to steal the oil. He splashed the liquid roughly over the fabric of the tent.
The rest was even easier.
All he had to do was kick a torch stand and knock it over. To ensure he remained unseen, he used the shadows as cover, crawling on his stomach to pull the stand inward.
The embers at the tip of the torch met the oil, erupting with a roaring whoosh as if greeting an old friend.
"You're quite resourceful," the company commander said flatly.
Encrid wondered if that was meant to be a compliment as he watched the tent catch fire. Naturally, the flames took hold first where the oil had been poured.
Encrid steered clear of the growing blaze, smearing soot across his face and intentionally inhaling a lungful of smoke. It was far easier to react naturally than to put on a clumsy act.
"Cough! Cough!"
Choking on the fumes, Encrid hoisted the unconscious freckled soldier onto his back. He slipped out through the tear in the tent the company commander had used, circled around the barracks, and collapsed in front of the medical tent.
This would be enough.
"Fire!"
He had timed the blaze perfectly with the patrol soldiers' rounds. He’d had to. The bastard on night watch in the neighboring tent was a master of sleeping on his feet; he wouldn't have woken up for anything. Encrid had briefly wondered if the assassin had hit that man with a poison dart as well.
None of this required grand preparation. Stealing oil from a known location and knocking over a torch stand was all it took. Yet, Krang and the company commander, who had watched the entire performance, seemed genuinely impressed.
"Honestly, if you'd joined a bandit group, you would've become the boss in no time."
Krang's words from right before they parted lingered in his mind.
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
As he ran a hand through his hair, his curly locks caught on his fingers.
I should cut my hair soon.
He lay on the ground, not even bothering to wipe the soot from his face. It wasn't a massive fire, so it wouldn't be deemed a major incident. After all, no one had died. He had already prepared a decent excuse for the sentry.
Ask me tomorrow. Tomorrow.
Without a shred of exaggeration, he wanted nothing more than to lie there and fall asleep. It had been a long night. A truly long "today." Beyond a simple headache, his mind had gone completely numb. He didn't want to think about anything.
"Any survivors?"
"Over there. But, well... I think he just fainted."
Encrid knew they were talking about him, but he ignored them and kept his eyes shut. Fatigue washed over him like a tide.
*
The freckled soldier who had been on watch probably didn't feel the same, but Encrid felt a one-sided sense of intimacy with him.
You wouldn't know, of course.
Encrid had conversed with him in previous loops. He knew the man's hometown. He knew about the girlfriend he had left behind. He had even heard the reason he joined the army. It was a "today" that the soldier had no memory of, but Encrid did.
The intimacy was born from that shared history. Besides, neither the fire nor the raid was the soldier's fault. So, Encrid had provided a plausible excuse for him: that the moment the fire broke out, the sentry had shouted a warning and tried to save those inside, only to faint after inhaling too much smoke.
He was a recruit who had only just finished training. There certainly wouldn't have been any drills on barrack fires during his basic instruction. It was a reason everyone could easily accept and move past.
"I did that?"
Of course, since he had no memory of it, the soldier had asked in sheer bewilderment.
"You must have lost your memory of the event," the supply company commander had simply shrugged.
Encrid had worried someone might suspect him, but his excuses had lined up perfectly. The supply company commander just seemed relieved that the supply tent itself hadn't caught fire. Since Encrid had planned for that exact outcome, things had gone precisely as intended.
A brand new morning dawned.
Today did not repeat.
Though Encrid still woke up with a throbbing headache, he was satisfied. At the very least, he had successfully moved past "today."
"You saved me?"
After washing his face and body, changing out of his soot-scented clothes, and roughly trimming his hair with a dagger, Encrid set out. Vengeance asked the question, perched atop a crate of supplies.
"I couldn't just let you burn to death right in front of me, could I?"
At Encrid's words, Vengeance's mouth twitched. Mumbling something under his breath, he asked, "...Why?"
Encrid wondered if such an action even needed a reason. With his head still pounding, he didn't feel like having a long conversation.
"Because we're comrades."
He answered without much thought. Hearing this, Vengeance's expression stiffened.
"Tsk."
Seeing the reaction, Encrid spoke the unit's creed.
"The flower of the battlefield is..."
"...the infantry."
It was the standard greeting of the infantry company. With those words, Encrid turned away. He had just received orders to return to his unit.
"And here I was, only being mean to him..."
Vengeance's faint grumbling brushed past his ears. He could hear sounds he normally wouldn't have noticed.
Auditory training.
Encrid pondered the ability he had acquired. He recalled the elf company commander deflecting the sword last night, and remembered how he had dodged the thrusts of the assassin's attacks.
A question naturally arose.
Am I still in the same place?
It wasn't a grave concern; he was simply curious. Just how different was the "him" of yesterday from the "him" of today? Suddenly, he felt a sudden urge to spar with Rem.
But first...
He needed to return to his main barracks and get some proper rest. His head was still throbbing.
"The weather is really nice."
After taking only a few steps, Encrid noticed his shadow stretching long to his right. Looking up, he saw a clear, deep blue canvas of a sky. Puffy clouds drifted across it, the wind was cool, and the sunlight was warm.
Today was an exceptionally clear day. He felt as if just walking would make his headache vanish.
*
Krais appeared calm on the outside, but inside, he was sighing heavily. Encrid had been away for exactly one week.
How on earth did we manage back then?
Faced with the situation unfolding before his eyes, Krais's mind escaped from reality. He recalled the days before Encrid arrived.
"Therefore, I am the squad leader here. Therefore, you must listen to me. Therefore, gather in front of the barracks right now."
The squad leader who repeatedly said "therefore." He had been an overbearing prick, and he had died a miserable death in his very first battle.
"Follow me!"
He seemed to have heard some strange rumors—that the Troublemaker Squad was small in number but unmatched in skill. Did he really think such people would meekly follow him? He had charged in alone, only to have his head pierced by a spear. When his helmet came flying back, Rem had sent it spinning with a back-kick.
The squad leader after him...
"I heard you guys know how to fight. Shall we test your skills? Anyone want to go against me?"
He was said to be the son of a noble, supposedly joining the military to atone for some crime. Krais didn't know the details, only that the guy was meant to roll around here for a few months before heading back home. That noble was overflowing with confidence and completely lacking in experience.
"May I dare to spar with you, Squad Leader?" Rem had asked, scratching his head.
"Hmm, not you. Right, you step forward. You with the reddish-brown hair."
He had chosen Sachsen as his opponent. Rem looked like a thug through and through, so anyone could tell he knew how to fight. And calling out Krais would have been completely shameless. Sachsen must have seemed like the easiest target.
Naturally, it was a massive mistake.
"Me?"
"Yes. Step up. Let's spar. Haha, I've never lost a fight in my life."
"What if you get hurt during the spar?"
"Is a man afraid of such things? We'll keep it off the record!"
The arrogant, cocky noble squad leader... ended up with a broken forearm.
"I thought for sure he'd dodge it," Sachsen had said later. He was usually easygoing, but occasionally, he turned into quite a lunatic.
It was the fault of Rem and the other squad members, who had egged Sachsen on while he was holding back.
"He should've stepped forward with his left foot there."
"Bullshit, he should've just tripped him and knocked him flat."
"His sword hand lacks grip. He needs to hold it tighter. If you underestimate your opponent, you're the one who gets hurt."
"Tsk, what a weakling. He looks like he couldn't even pin down a woman. If it were me, I would've finished this ages ago. Ah, how boring."
Those words had made Sachsen snap. The company commander had flown into a rage over the noble squad leader's broken arm.
"Assaulting a superior officer?!"
"He insisted we keep it off the record and practically begged to fight."
"Yeah, exactly. If a man goes back on his word, his dick ought to fall off."
"He has but one mouth, yet his words keep changing. Ah, this sinner repents."
With every squad member chiming in, even the company commander couldn't say much. After all, facts were facts. They had agreed to keep it off the record before they fought. Naturally, the noble squad leader tucked his tail and ran. Back in his family estate, there were probably plenty of hired swords paid to lose to him, but this was a battlefield. In the first place, the company commander didn't seem to have any intention of taking the noble squad leader to the front lines anyway. He had probably just slapped the title on him for show.
And the squad leader after him was no different.
They were all six of one and half a dozen of the other. One hot-tempered squad leader had a quiet "chat" outside with Rem, after which he stopped acting up and quietly requested a transfer. Others had fled for similar reasons. Even those who managed to endure just ignored the squad entirely, like a cow staring at a chicken.
"Sigh."
Krais turned his head at the sound of a sigh behind him.
"Finally."
Recognizing the face, Krais muttered with a wave of relief.
"What is this mess?"
It was Encrid. He approached, pressing his right index finger firmly against his temple. Encrid looked at the two facing off in front of the 4th Squad's barracks. This was the reality Krais had been escaping from.
"Since the squad leader isn't here, I'm basically the deputy squad leader, right? So when I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it, Squad Member Ragna?"
"Don't call me by my name. Address me by my family name with respect, barbarian."
"Ha! Look at this picky eater putting on noble airs."
"I simply find it offensive when a beast that is barely human utters my name."
"Oh, really? Maybe you need to be torn to shreds by a beast to snap out of it?"
Veins bulged on Rem's hands as he growled. He looked ready to hurl his axe and split the other's head open at any second. The squad member called Ragna faced him with utter indifference, standing casually with his arms hanging loosely at his sides. That was Ragna's ready stance.
Sachsen watched, looking completely unconcerned. The remaining squad member was quietly offering a prayer, trying to stop them.
"Brother, struggle and violence are evil."
"Back off, religious fanatic."
"Step back. A sword has no eyes."
Rem and Ragna replied in unison.
What a disaster of a squad.
To think they had devolved into this state in just a single week. The headache that had faded while he walked came rushing back.
"Krais, got any spare medicine?"
Sachsen only cared about his own business, regardless of whether they fought or not. He nodded to Encrid in greeting and asked Krais for supplies.
"None right now. Ah, Squad Leader, you're back. I was actually thinking of looking for you. Some things happened."
Krais shook his head at Sachsen and spoke to Encrid.
"Hold on."
Encrid had to stop those two first. If left alone, blood would definitely be spilled. It had been like this on the day he first arrived, too—though back then, the opponent hadn't been Ragna, but the praying squad member.
"There are many things that cannot be resolved through struggle and violence."
That guy talking like that wasn't normal either.
"Hey!"
Encrid ignored his throbbing headache and stepped between them. The way to stop their fights was simple. Words were useless; he had to physically throw himself in the middle.
Encrid walked right between the two.
"...Seriously, they say ignorance makes you brave. You're back?" Rem muttered. The veins on the back of his hands twitched and then settled. "Well, it's not like I can slice you down too. The squad leader is... well, never mind."
Rem and Ragna, who had been glaring at each other, stepped back. Even as they retreated, they didn't forget to exchange "blessings."
"Don't you dare die on the battlefield. I have to be the one to kill you," Ragna said.
"Huh? What's that? You want to croak tomorrow? You're dying to taste Lord Rem's axe?" Rem shot back.
"Enough."
Standing between them, Encrid shook his head. Why did they get along so terribly? He didn't know. They had been like this from the very beginning. The two were still glaring at each other. Good grief, the first thing he saw upon his return was a brawl.
"Anyway, all sorts of things happened while you were gone, Squad Leader," Krais spoke up again from behind.
"Is that so?"
He could tell just by looking. When he was in the medical tent, Ragna had complained that the barracks were a total mess, and he was absolutely right. He had expected as much. It was fine. Having gone through such harsh trials, the trouble they caused felt like nothing.
Failing to organize meal duties, forcing everyone to fend for themselves. Getting into an argument with a squad member from the neighboring tent and punching him in the jaw. Ignoring the platoon leader's summons.
Isn't this a bit too much of a mess just because I was gone?
The thought crossed his mind, but he was genuinely fine with it. Krais babbled on, and Encrid realized that the chaos wasn't limited to the Troublemaker Squad.
"A curse?" Encrid asked, momentarily forgetting his throbbing headache.
"Yes. They say a curse has been cast over the entire camp."
What kind of bullshit was this now? It was nonsense absurd enough to make him forget his headache entirely.