Chapter 548: Uncle
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 548: Uncle
Krais lived as if pursued by his workload, a state of affairs he knew would persist for some time. He could also roughly guess how certain events would unfold in the near future.
For instance:
‘Will we only have to deal with Azpen for another six months at most?’
If they simply sat back and watched, the two nations would remain in an awkward, distant relationship for years, like indifferent strangers. However, measures to ease that tension were already being put into motion.
Things might not go exactly as planned. But so what? Even if the attempt failed, it wasn't as if anyone would die; he might as well just go for it.
The only true variables were an invasion by another country or a breach of the Demon Realm borderlands.
‘But those are out of my hands.’
Even putting aside the Demon Realm—since worrying about it now wouldn't help anyway—Krang had already made the first move to deter foreign invasions.
Though it was uncertain how far Krang's scheme would succeed, other nations would likely adopt a wait-and-see attitude for the time being. Instead of burning the entire continent down, Naurilia and Azpen had joined hands.
A fight? No, we've made up.
the current situation was practically announcing this to the entire continent. Yielding their borders carried that exact meaning. Furthermore, the Border Guard had proven its strength.
Those in the know were aware that the knights of Azpen had been completely wiped out, but what did that imply?
‘It's proof that the Border Guard possesses that much power.’
In other words, no one would dare attack without first grasping the full extent of their military strength. It was as if Naurilia's Red Cloak Knights had suddenly doubled in number. Even those who had expected some increase in power must have been startled.
Even as songs about the Sword of the Iron Wall and its knights spread, cool-headed individuals would be calculating the Border Guard's true capabilities.
‘Rem and Ragna are too sharp and too wild to be hidden.’
It was safe to assume the information had already leaked. On top of that, the two warring nations had formed a tentative alliance. If a force equivalent to a knight order from the Border Guard joined hands with Azpen, they would become a formidable power.
This meant that, for the time being, the Southern Great Nation or the Empire wouldn't invade simply because they disliked them. At the very least, they would investigate the inner workings of the Border Guard more thoroughly before making a move.
‘What else is there?’
Excluding unpredictable variables like the rise of cultists, it was fair to say they had secured a brief period of peace.
‘And in the meantime, bands of swordsmen, bandits, or mercenary groups won't pick fights for no reason.’
When a nation is weak and powerless, it is common to be pushed around even by well-known mercenary bands. In the past, a small country in the southeast had actually been swallowed up by one.
In fact, the trading city that claimed to be an independent southern state had once been extorted of Krona multiple times by mercenary bands due to its lack of military power. However, they had turned the tables by instigating infighting among the mercenaries and then using their own private force to completely annihilate the survivors. This incident, known as the "Blade of the Caravan," was so famous that few were ignorant of it.
The mercenary bands under that trading city were named Gold, Silver, and Bronze, if he recalled correctly.
The Mercenary Band of Gold, the Mercenary Band of Silver, and the Mercenary Band of Bronze—truly unoriginal names.
Furthermore, the leaders of the trading city were said to have ties with the continent's top assassin guild. Though the mercenary group called the Blade of the Caravan occasionally played tricks on other cities...
‘Would that trading city have any reason to make an enemy of us?’
If compared to a person, the trading city was tough and stubborn. This was something worth considering. They didn't care whether their opponent was the Empire, the South, or Naurilia. The only things that mattered to them were trade and commerce.
According to Leona, the Caravan Master of the Lockfried Caravan, she had even received a marriage proposal when she was busy taking over the caravan.
"Fortunately, he wasn't some fifty-year-old toad-like pervert, but still, it would be a waste to give away my caravan as a dowry."
The trading city's motive was clear: they wanted to absorb Lockfried's mobility through marriage. The experience gained from traveling the continent on foot was by no means common. Moreover, Lockfried had established trade relations with the Black Leather Guild and the Glacier Rangers.
It was impossible not to covet them. Hearing the news of the change in leadership, the city must have seen it as a golden opportunity. Had the Lockfried Caravan joined the trading city, it would have grown in size much more easily than it did now.
In exchange, however, it would have been difficult to call Leona the true master of the Lockfried Caravan from then on. Setting up a shop with someone else's Krona naturally came with such side effects. They would hand over the money with a smile at first, only to demand repayment aggressively later. If you couldn't pay, you'd have no right to complain when they claimed a portion of your business as their own.
If Leona had been even slightly naive, she might have fallen for it, but she was clever and knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to own the caravan completely.
"There's a ridiculous amount of work."
Stopping his train of thought, Krais took a sip of tea. It was a gift sent from the royal family, accompanied by a letter from Marcus. It was a message thanking him for taking care of various matters.
‘Since we have no reason to make an enemy of the royal family, we might as well get along.’
Drinking the tea that Marcus had specially selected, Krais felt his fatigued mind clear. Perhaps this was why people bought and drank expensive tea leaves. Should he stock this kind of tea in a corner when he opened a salon in the future?
If a salon was just a place to eat, drink, and play, its value would diminish. He had to make sure it became a venue where important conversations took place and networks were expanded. Currently, banquets and parties hosted by nobles served that purpose, but seeing how cafeterias were establishing themselves in the city, a salon would be more than capable of taking over that role.
For now, the word "salon" only brought to mind places where young noblewomen married to old nobles or lust-crazed scoundrels gathered. But that all depended on how it was managed.
‘Nothing bad will happen at the royal palace, right?’
"Don't worry. I'm going with him."
Krais felt a bitter taste in his mouth remembering what Rem had said before leaving. Would the nobles gathered at the royal palace quietly accept the Captain? Surely there would be those grumbling about giving power to the Border Guard.
Well, it was the Captain's business to handle. He would surely do well. He might worry about Rem, but in reality, Rem was someone who couldn't be controlled by anyone other than Encrid anyway.
"Ah, I just want to open a salon and go into seclusion."
There was a reason why old tales always featured reclusive sages. When one was about to collapse from overwork on the front lines, wouldn't they want to throw everything away, head into the mountains, and enjoy a forest bath? If they were unlucky, they might end up as a monster's meal, but if they hated working that much, they should at least learn magic before going into hiding.
Of course, Krais didn't have the slightest intention of doing so. He hated responsibility, not the pleasures the city provided.
Since he was so busy and had so much to do, his thoughts even drifted to that fellow Abnayor. How convenient would it be to have someone with that kind of brain helping with the work? Still, bringing him in to work right away felt a bit uncomfortable.
Should he ask Encrid about this when he returned?
With that thought, Krais downed his tea in one gulp. It was time to get back to work. He had to organize the troops trained and divided according to their units, maintain the weapons and armor they would use, and in the meantime, filter out those entering the city with useless intentions.
He couldn't do all of this with his own hands, so he planted people here and there to help, but he was still short-handed. Once again, Krais wondered if this was truly the place for him, but he brushed the thought aside. Even if some lingering resentment remained, what could he do?
Right now, he was buried in work.
*
The sun had been shining brightly when they departed, but before they knew it, the sky had turned gloomy. The gray sky was the exact shade of Rem’s hair. It looked like it would rain soon.
"Looks like it's going to rain. Hmm, it'll pour down soon, so we'd better find some shelter," Rem said, glancing up at the sky. He had always been quick to notice changes in the weather.
"How do you do that?" Encrid asked.
Should he call this journey boring? Although the Safe Road didn't extend all the way from Nauril to the Border Guard, the paths to the major cities were well-paved. The roads had been constructed by laying stones on the ground.
In addition, three-story watchtowers were built at intervals of half a day's travel. These towers were designed with arrow slits, making them ideal for hiding inside and shooting arrows if monsters or demonic beasts attacked. While they would be relatively vulnerable to griffins, harpies, or wyverns, large ballistas had been built on top of the towers for that very reason.
To build just one of those ballistas, they had collected the fur of demonic beasts for a while, and women had reportedly cut and sold their hair. After making the frame, they would have fashioned the bowstring out of sinew and various types of hair. He had heard that quite a few people made a decent amount of Krona by selling their hair back then.
At any rate, thanks to this Safe Road, it was hard to spot even a bandit, let alone a monster. In other words, it was a safe and peaceful path. They saw several merchants setting off on trade journeys along the way. Looking at the guards they had hired, most of them were from the Border Guard standing army. It was proof of the immense influence the Border Guard had on the safety of this region.
It wasn't boring, just safe, but for Encrid, Rem, and Audin, it could be considered a rather leisurely journey. All three were on horseback, and Rem pulled his reins to turn around as he answered the previous question.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to copy it."
"Why?"
"Man, you sure have a lot of questions. I've lived in the west my whole life. If you're a native of the west and dabble in sorcery, you naturally become sensitive to changes in scent. It's like an instinct developed from living in an arid climate for a long time."
"I see."
This will be hard to learn, Encrid thought as he urged his horse forward, following Rem.
He had heard that the stable keeper had quite a hard time choosing a horse for Audin to ride. That was how massive the man was. It would have been nice if Odd-Eye had let him ride, but the beast wouldn't easily allow anyone other than Encrid on his back. Being as smart as a human, he would let others ride in emergencies or even bring back a lost Ragna, but he wouldn't lend his back for something like this, nor did he seem to have any intention of tagging along.
The same went for Esther.
"I have a lot of work to do," she had said.
She meant she was busy teaching and honing spells. Having returned to her human form after a long time, Esther looked after the soldiers—whether they were her disciples or subordinates—and she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
"Lower your eyes. If you let your eyes wander carelessly, I will gouge them out."
She greeted the squad members with such words, but even before she spoke, all the soldiers had already quietly lowered their gaze. Whatever had happened before, they were incredibly obedient. They all carried fist-sized crystal balls, constantly wiping them and muttering, which would have made them look like a group of madmen to anyone who didn't know better.
"Let's have a spar when we take a break, Brother," Audin spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
"Sure," Encrid nodded.
"Count me in too," Rem chimed in.
Since a serious duel would only end when someone got hurt, it was more of a warm-up than a serious fight, but to an outsider, it would still be an eye-popping sight. Their journey was a repetition of such things. If it looked like rain, they would find a nearby city or cave to take shelter.
"Grrr!"
If a demonic beast happened to emerge from inside a cave, all three of them would step forward without hesitation. If there were many monsters or demonic beasts that could withstand Audin's fists or Rem's axe splitting their skulls, this land would have already completely turned into the Demon Realm.
In this manner, they watched passing caravans, sparred, rode their horses, and cracked jokes. Traveling like that, Nauril was soon right before their eyes.
Normally, when someone in charge of a great territory came to the capital, they would bring a large entourage of servants. In the past, Count Molsen and other nobles had brought crowds of people when they came to the capital, but Encrid had come with only three in total. There was simply no need to bring a bustling crowd.
Though they were only three, two of them were knights. Who would dare challenge them?
Naturally, no one should, but most people didn't know Encrid's face. In fact, it was normal not to know. No matter how famous someone was, people had to have seen their face to recognize them.
However, the guard captain defending the city wall couldn't possibly not know him. He had already seen Encrid's face once during the capital's civil war.
In front of the city wall, where there was more traffic than expected, Encrid quietly lined up to enter. Just then, the guard captain, who was watching the people passing through the city gate, recognized him.
"Huh? Uh? Uh-uh-uh?"
He pointed a finger at Encrid, stammering in disbelief, before finally squeezing out a single phrase.
"The Demon Slayer!"
It seemed that nickname was still more famous in the capital. Audin's massive build had already drawn the attention of those around them. Upon hearing the guard captain's words, everyone turned to look at Encrid.
The heads of the people nearby whipped around, all eyes landing on him.
"That guy?"
"It's him, you idiot."
"Ah, that person?"
"Him?"
"The master of the Border Guard?"
"The one who's the King's friend?"
"So that's the Demon Slayer."
"...Wait, why is he so handsome?"
Various murmurs rippled through the crowd. Though dozens of eyes were on him, Encrid remained unperturbed. He had experienced this kind of thing a few times even before he became famous—at noble banquets and the like.
"I am Encrid of the Border Guard. I have come at the summons of the royal palace. May I enter?"
There was no need to even present his identification tag to prove his identity.
"Of course, without a doubt!"
The guard captain went so far as to take the reins and guide them. Having been here once and even rolled around in battle, Encrid was roughly familiar with the surrounding terrain. The only differences from before were that there were more noisy children and the slums near the city wall had shrunk slightly. Krang certainly hadn't been idle since becoming king.
Just as they passed through the city wall and Encrid was about to send the guard captain back, the man suddenly spoke, his bearded face full of emotion.
"I respect you."
The guard captain was also someone who went around memorizing the songs about Encrid. He had been born and raised in the capital and loved his country. To such a person, the hero who had protected his country, his city, and his family was on par with a god. To him, Encrid was an object of faith.
Since there were quite a few such people in the Border Guard as well, Encrid gave a fitting nod.
The capital, which he was visiting for the second time, was bathed in warm, bright sunlight, and the air was cool. It was the refreshing chill of early autumn. As he looked between the foul stench wafting from the stables lined up on one side and the pungent smell of urine from the alley on the other, he noticed a bit of a commotion up ahead.
"Do not pick a fight. We are merely passing through."
"Hmph, I only offered to pay a fair price."
Encrid hadn't expected to meet them here, but both were familiar faces.
"Huh?"
Since Rem also knew some of the people in the group, he was the first to call out. "The twins? What are you guys doing all the way here?"
On one side were the Western Twins and Enri, the hunter who had transitioned into a merchant. Enri's hair was cut short, and his beard was cleanly shaved, giving him a neat appearance.
Rem didn't recognize him, but Encrid knew the person on the other side. He was a merchant. What was his name again? Malton. It was Malton. The man who had scolded him in front of the Giant Merchant back at the Border Guard.
‘What did he say back then? If I was a friend of the Lockfried Caravan Master, then he was General Encrid's uncle?’
"Uncle?"
Encrid called out to him with a bright smile.
Malton stared at Encrid for a moment, tilting his head. He didn't seem to recognize the face immediately.
What an unfaithful memory. How could he not remember his own nephew's face?