Chapter 236: The Path to Becoming a Knight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 236: The Path to Becoming a Knight
Encrid’s ‘Will’ was neither complete nor perfect.
It was a fragment—a mere shard of the whole.
Even so, it was still ‘Will.’
This was why Marcus had been so astonished, and why the Elf Company Commander had returned immediately from her trip—or her leave, whichever it was.
The Elf Company Commander didn’t even bother denying she had come to feast her eyes, despite the fact that he was still in the bath.
"Quite a sight."
Her words were her only admission.
"Do you have something to say?" Encrid asked.
"No."
She had come solely to confirm if he had truly withstood the Intimidation.
How strange, Encrid thought.
He knew what he had done was remarkable, but was it really worth making such a fuss? Especially since Encrid knew the truth better than anyone.
It was merely a fraction. A shard.
Of course, that alone had brought him a sense of ecstasy and joy. Nothing else could have provided such a profound sense of fulfillment. Yet, even as he felt satisfied, he found himself craving more.
If this is just the beginning...
He could go even further.
It felt as though his faded, torn dreams had not just been patched together, but fused into one by some inexplicable force.
No, that’s exactly what happened.
He scratched his cheek, lost in thought. The curse of repeating this day had stitched the torn fabric of his dreams back together. Encrid didn't deny that reality.
"Well then."
The Elf Company Commander turned around. She walked away, cutting through the pouring rain. Encrid watched her go, then swept his wet hair back. He couldn't help but think that the elf had a truly peculiar personality.
*
No matter how agile an elf was, she couldn't dodge the rain; getting drenched was inevitable. As she walked, Sinar checked the wound on her flank.
It hurts.
Applying some medicine and resting for a day or two would do the trick. It wasn't agonizing, but it was painful enough to make movement a chore. Clutching her side as she walked, the elf thought of Encrid.
Those blue eyes had stared straight at her while he sat in the bath. She had liked his face from the very beginning.
So? Had she set her sights on him from the start? No. He had definitely just been someone to tease. Yet, when had he become such a tantalizing prospect?
It would be nice to recruit him, but...
...that wouldn't be as easy as she hoped.
She had just finished a task for the guild established to reclaim the Royal Language. Sinar judged that the work would help her future and bring her closer to what she desired. If it weren't helpful, she would have no reason to be here.
She had just wrapped up a rather grueling job, only to hear upon her return that Encrid had fainted. No—to be precise, he had fainted at first, but then he had endured the pressure without losing consciousness.
To the uninitiated, it meant nothing. But those in the know understood exactly what it implied.
Intimidation.
‘Will’ could only be blocked by ‘Will.’ Without a power equivalent to it, even resisting was impossible. If he had gone beyond mere resistance and actually endured it...
Will.
That man, the target of her jokes? He possessed ‘Will’?
Sinar was so shocked she momentarily forgot about her wound. And why wouldn't she be? She had eyes, too. Even if she couldn't read a person's talent perfectly, she knew exactly what state Encrid had been in. It should have been impossible, even if he were struck by lightning of good fortune multiple times.
Yet, whether it was hardship or crisis, no matter what stood before him, he overcame it and rose again and again. Watching him, how could she not find it thrilling?
He’s a man I’d love to show off to the fools back home.
Her previous comment about wanting to take him to meet her parents was half-serious. After all, wasn't it the elven way to hide one's true intentions inside a joke?
"He really is interesting," Sinar murmured to herself, her red lips parting.
Shhhhhhh.
The heavy rain poured down, showing no signs of stopping.
Rumble, crash!
Thunder mingled with the downpour. The elf smiled without realizing it.
A task that was tedious, painful, and bleak—yet must be done. She had rarely smiled while carrying out such duties. Yet now, she found herself smiling easily because of a certain man. Though she thought it quite ridiculous, she was satisfied with the present.
Was that why she hadn't left this place yet, even though she should have long ago? Even if she had to make up all sorts of excuses to stay?
Perhaps.
Sinar resumed her walk. Neither her pain nor the goals she sought to achieve could hold her back right now. She simply offered her silent congratulations for what Encrid had achieved.
For now, that was enough.
*
She seems injured.
Encrid had eyes, too. His heightened sense of smell caught the metallic scent of blood drifting through the steam of the bath. He could tell just by looking. And if he had noticed, the others surely had as well.
"Looks like she's completely smitten," Rem spoke up.
"With what?"
"With you, Boss. Though, with what you've got down there, you certainly have some demonic stamina."
They had just stood up from the bath, rinsing off sweat and grime. It was in this state that Rem spoke, staring pointedly between Encrid's legs.
"You crazy bastard," Encrid replied.
Rem shook his head. "I give up. I can't beat that."
He was out of his mind, as always. Encrid aimed a kick at Rem’s ribs, which Rem easily dodged.
"Coming to see you even when she's hurt. You really do have a demonic charm," Ragna chimed in.
"I'm telling you, with a face like yours, we should open a salon together. And damn, especially with that," Krais added, also glancing down.
"The Battalion Commander is right here," Encrid warned them to watch themselves.
Marcus chuckled beside them. "Even I'm jealous of that."
What on earth was he jealous of?
With that, everyone finished washing up and turned to leave.
"She must have been doing some incredibly rough work, seeing how that elf got hurt. But it doesn't look like a major injury, so you can stop worrying about your fiancée," Sachsen said just before they reached the barracks.
Encrid took in the words but corrected the error. "She's not my fiancée."
"Sure."
Sachsen replied dryly as he opened the door. Inside, Dunchabel and Esther turned their gazes toward them. Finn had returned as well.
"Is it true?" Finn asked. Encrid knew the question was directed at him.
She was asking if it was really ‘Will.’ If he had truly overcome the Intimidation. She wanted to know if the rumors were true.
"I got lucky," he said. He didn't have much else to say.
"Wow." Finn simply gaped in astonishment. "Are you actually going to become a real knight at this rate?"
She had thought he wasn't normal from the moment they met, but this was on another level. ‘Will,’ of all things.
Encrid didn't respond to Finn's amazement. Becoming a knight was his dream, and he was moving toward it. He had never spent time wondering whether he would achieve it or not. He would simply move forward, even if he had to crawl. His progress was merely beginning to bear fruit.
As everyone began settling down to sleep, the usual banter filled the room. Rem nagged Dunchabel, and when Encrid asked where she had been, Finn spouted some nonsense about hanging out with people obsessed with languages. Finn shook her head, saying she couldn't share any more details, and no one really cared anyway. Encrid had asked, but he wasn't listening closely either.
"Why even ask then? Why does none of you pay attention to me? When there's such a beautiful woman sharing this room with you?" Finn complained. Her hair was a bit dry, but she wasn't bad-looking. Though he could no longer remember her face due to the regression, compared to the female bandit of the Black Sword, Finn was definitely a beauty.
Snort.
Beside them, Esther snorted. It was a blatant scoff.
"Even the panther is laughing at you. Go wash up and go to sleep," Rem snickered, prompting Finn to curse and direct her frustration at the sky.
"Damn rain."
With those words, Finn was about to head out to wash. But as she reached for the door, Sachsen grabbed her wrist, and Esther, who had stood up at some point, padded over to Finn's feet.
Rem, Ragna, and Audin also turned their heads. Encrid stepped in to block Finn. Even Dunchabel, her beastman instincts flaring, twitched her shoulders and bared her fangs from where she sat.
"...What is it?" Krais, the only one who hadn't sensed anything, asked.
"A guest," Encrid replied.
This was the Border Guard barracks. It wasn't some common inn; uninvited guests couldn't easily slip in here. Yet, a guest had arrived.
"May I have a moment of your time?"
A voice drifted in while everyone stared at the door. Encrid stepped forward and said, "He's my guest."
When he opened the door, a middle-aged man stood there, looking like a drowned rat. It was the rapier swordsman who had once served as a guard for the Lockfried Merchant Guild—the very man who, after having his Intimidation rejected by Encrid earlier that afternoon, had been so shocked he could only stammer.
"Looks like he's finally come to his senses," Rem sneered from behind.
The rapier swordsman ignored him. "I took the liberty of coming here in the hope of seeing you once more."
He blurted out his purpose immediately. One look at his current state made it obvious how massive the shock of the afternoon had been. Aside from being drenched, the dark circles under his eyes were deep, and his cheeks had hollowed out in just half a day.
"As much as you like," Encrid did not refuse.
"You just washed up. Aren't you bothered?" Krais asked.
Encrid shook his head slightly. "Why would I be?"
If he found such things bothersome, he should have put down his sword long ago. The opponent before him was precious. He knew how to use Intimidation, and Encrid guessed his actual skills were formidable. In fact, Encrid had been planning to ask him for another spar tomorrow anyway.
"Something has come up, and I must leave tonight. I apologize. I know this is discourteous, but I had to come."
He had scaled the barracks wall in the dead of night, meaning he had successfully evaded the sentries. He was certainly capable. Regardless, Encrid resolved to increase the training intensity of his troops. Letting someone scale the wall so easily simply wouldn't do.
Yet, beneath that thought, he felt a quiet joy.
"His sickness is acting up again," Rem muttered.
No matter what Rem said, someone had sought him out to clash blades. Was it Ibarun, Joy's man? This man was no mere husk like him. The shock that husk had delivered was so great that even though Encrid had forgotten Edin Molsen's name, the three syllables of ‘Ibarun’ remained etched in his memory.
His opponent was a wielder of ‘Will’—which, in a sense, made him a true Associate Knight.
The rain had not stopped. Though the downpour had thinned, getting wet was inevitable. Encrid had just washed, but he let his body get drenched once more. He didn't care. What did a little rain matter?
As they stood before the private training ground, the earth was muddy. While the dirt usually minimized the risk of injury during falls, on rainy days, it dragged at one's feet. Of course, to the two men standing there, the ground was of little concern.
*
"I'll go alone," Encrid said as he stepped out.
The others nodded in vague agreement, but Sachsen, by nature, distrusted humans. If things go south, they strike from behind. That was why Sachsen slipped away from the barracks alone to watch from the shadows.
Rem noticed but didn't move, and neither did the others.
Esther felt a strange shift in Encrid's presence. What is this? She knew how to handle weapons, but unless it was related to mana, she shouldn't have been this sensitive to it. Had the power that dulled her curse weakened? No, that wasn't it. Had his attitude changed? He was the same crazy bastard as always.
Yet, Esther felt a subtle transformation. Still, that wasn't enough reason for her to stand in the pouring rain and watch. Esther closed her eyes. She was sleepy. Having transformed into a human multiple times recently, she had gradually refined her Spell World.
Through those experiences, she too had learned about the world. She was no longer a mage locked away in her own head; she had rolled through the battlefield as a panther. And this was what she had realized: in human affairs, one never knows what might happen. Therefore, one must always be prepared.
Esther rested her head on her paws. Since Encrid wasn't going to die, she put it out of her mind and sank into her own world.
"Since the stray cat has gone, I might as well get some sleep," Rem said.
"Oh, you're right. Sachsen vanished in an instant," Krais replied.
Though they had all agreed to stay in the barracks, not even enough time for a cup of tea to cool had passed before Rem stood up.
"It is a bit boring, though."
Those words spoke for everyone. They were going to watch, even if they had to make up an excuse.
*
Standing face-to-face in the training ground, Encrid once again rejected the Intimidation.
"It's real," the rapier swordsman said, astonished once more. Who could have expected someone to grasp ‘Will’ and return like this?
In return, a single trickle of blood ran down the left side of Encrid's nose.
It's easier than using a sword, but...
...it still wasn't something he could wield recklessly. However, he did feel something.
"The more you use it, the more refined it will become," the rapier swordsman said, looking at the nosebleed washing away in the rain.
It was exactly what Encrid had felt. It would be tempered with use. He was already experiencing it physically.
The two stared at each other for a long moment. As the rain grew heavier again, the rapier swordsman looked straight into those blue eyes and spoke.
"I cannot reveal my specific affiliation, but I am a member of the Righteous Order of Knights. This is all I can say for now, but... would you be willing to come with me?"
The torrential rain poured down, filling the space between them.
Rumble, crash!
A brilliant blue flash of lightning sliced across the sky, illuminating the world. The rapier swordsman's eyes met Encrid's.
He didn't come to spar.
He hadn't come to fight; he had come to gauge him once more and win him over.
"Join the Order. I shall light your path."
It was the path to becoming a knight.