Chapter 558: Festival and Guests
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 558: Festival and Guests
Ba-dump.
The heart that had been quietly pumping blood throughout his body suddenly made its presence known. It thudded wildly, as if screaming that it was still alive.
In truth, Krais had one thing more precious to him than his dreams, his life, or even survival itself. It was a tangible, visible value he could hold in his hands—a preparation for the future.
In other words: Krona.
For him, the future, the symbol of value, his dreams, and his life all boiled down to Krona.
What would he do once he opened a salon and earned a mountain of gold coins? He didn't know. He would simply do whatever he wanted. Even if he didn't know what that was yet, having pockets full of gold was enough. That was the future Krais envisioned.
And now, Encrid was whispering of that future and those dreams.
"If that happens, we'll make an astronomical amount of Krona."
For a split second, Krais saw a mountain of gold coins rise before his eyes. It was a hallucination. He hadn't touched a single drug, yet he was seeing things.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to build that city of pleasure you mentioned right on the border between the Empire's nobility and the great southern nation."
Krais's eyes grew hazy. His mind had already traveled to the distant future.
He had heard that Anne recently failed to develop a cure, ending up with a chemical that glowed in the dark instead. They were currently using that glowing water to build a lighthouse to illuminate the Border Guard's nights. What if they researched and developed it further?
Since a few alchemists who actually knew how to conduct research had joined after Anne, it wasn't an impossible task. They could construct a massive sphere in the center of the city and fill it with the glowing liquid. What if they built it on a grand scale to represent the city of salons? With the Architect Guild’s expertise in construction, it was entirely feasible.
In his daydream, Krais climbed the high castle walls built along the southern border.
"Now, look. That is the city of pleasure."
He spread his arms, introducing the sight to the dozens of nobles he was guiding. As everyone followed his gesture, they saw a city that shone even in the dead of night. It was literally a city of pleasure—a city that glowed with its own light.
Just imagining it sent a thrill from his toes to the tips of his hair.
No, it shouldn't end there. Let's make it spin.
They could build a mechanism to rotate it. Could they make it spin automatically? Would it be possible to implement a power device using magic?
"Now, look. That is the shining city, Salon de City!"
The city didn't just shine; it scattered and diffused light into its surroundings. He had blurted out the first name that came to mind, but it rolled off the tongue quite nicely.
Krais hadn't realized it, but the moment he had resolved to give up, his brain had stopped thinking. He hadn't been using his head. That was why every problem had seemed so difficult. The reason he had viewed them as insurmountable walls was simply due to a lack of motivation; his heart was no longer in it.
But now, his brain—which had been like stale, hardened bread—softened as if melting in hot soup and began to spin rapidly.
Encrid watched as the look in Krais's eyes suddenly shifted. The haze vanished, replaced by a vivid spark.
What is wrong with this guy?
Encrid didn't know. Honestly, he didn't particularly care to know, so he just cheered him on as he always did. After all, this was what Krais had wanted to do in the first place. Krais himself had forgotten for a moment, but Encrid had not.
A massive salon city, the Krona earned through it, and the mountain of gold coins he would pile up. Krais had said he liked both the city and the gold. That was why Encrid had brought it up.
And speaking of which, Encrid suddenly grew curious about the goals of his squad members—no, they could be called Order Knights now. What were they all here for?
He had rough guesses, but he had never asked. Up until now, there hadn't been a need to. But things were different now. They had become an Order of Knights, and he had inducted them into it. Just because he had something he desired, did Rem and everyone else have to follow him blindly?
Although they officially bore the name of a Knight Order, he had never explicitly addressed them as its members. Even if Rem was lending his axe to the task of erasing the Demon Realm, what about the others?
It was a thought that arose as Krais talked about this and that. He would have to go to each of them and ask. He also needed to clarify the scale and structure of the Order. Krais had always taken care of matters related to the Order, but while Krais was briefly distracted, Encrid had beaten him to the punch this time.
"Are you sick?" Encrid asked, seeing Krais's eyes rolling. He thought the man might have a fever.
"No."
Since Krais's eyes, which had been as dull as a dead fish's, were shining vividly again, he probably wasn't sick. And perhaps because he had caught a brief glimpse of Encrid lost in thought, Krais's mouth opened, and words began to flow smoothly.
"We share a rough border with Azpen, and you were worried because of the tense atmosphere, right? The factions that formed within the city and various other issues must have been a headache, too."
No, it wasn't really that much of a headache.
To be precise, Encrid simply hadn't cared much. If a problem arose, he would solve it. Since he couldn't just cut everyone down or beat them into submission right now, he figured he should just leave them be. Encrid was sharp enough to recognize the problems, but his internal resolution was to let them fester, then lance the boil when the time came.
In reality, however, the territory was too large to govern with such a method. Many people felt frustrated, even if it hadn't escalated to outright discontent. This was the case even though the city itself was running smoothly, with surplus food and plenty of Krona being made. It couldn't be helped; no matter how good the situation was, not everything could be perfect.
So, what should be done? Until just a moment ago, Krais hadn't had an answer either, but now he did.
"I have an idea."
Before he knew it, only the floating mechanism remained in Krais's mind. And that mechanism was spewing out gold coins in real-time.
Giving up? Danger? Weren't those things you had to risk to reap rewards? Hadn't the Captain standing right in front of him done exactly that?
Krais forgot his wavering heart. Steeling himself wasn't enough, so he decided to forget his doubts entirely.
"We have a lot of food stockpiled this year. I will use that."
Starting with the reclamation of Greenpearl, they had established the Safe Road, expanded the surrounding farmland, and put effort into herding and hunting. During ranger training, hunting demonic beasts and wild animals was practically a separate course. On top of that, the Border Guard's original role as a trading city had grown even larger. Recently, with the arrival of the Enri Merchant Guild from the west, they could even open up trade routes in that direction.
The profit derived from this was, precisely, food. Stating it like this made the Border Guard sound wealthy already, but the problem was that this didn't belong to Krais personally. He couldn't just take it all and run, nor did he have any desire to. Krais, too, had learned to walk a straight and upright path by watching Encrid.
I will march straight ahead and build a shining city.
Krais made his decision.
"Uh, sure."
"Yes, then."
Krais turned and left.
"What was that? Why did he come here?" Rem asked as he emerged, vigorously shaking out his hair with a dry cloth after washing up.
"I don't know," Encrid answered honestly.
"Didn't he say he was busy?"
"Indeed."
Encrid let it slide as just one of those things. The next morning, he heard that Krais had persuaded Abnayor—whom he had brought back practically as a prisoner—to cooperate. When asked later why he had done so, Krais's response was simple:
"I'm going to make him work."
To the question of how he could trust him, Krais replied: "I don't trust him. In fact, I don't trust anyone. Instead, I'll make sure this person and that person have no idea what the other is doing."
He also said he would limit Abnayor's duties strictly to matters involving Azpen.
"Excluding military expenditures and army affairs entirely, he won't even have enough time if he spends all of it on trade and stabilizing relations," Krais said.
And just as he said, Abnayor poured all his effort into his work. When Encrid finally dropped by once, Abnayor had his head buried in his desk and didn't even look up. He wasn't sleeping; he was completely out of his mind checking documents.
"Who is it? Put the documents you brought down there."
Feeling like he had come for nothing, Encrid silently closed the door and turned back.
In any case, with Abnayor handling trade with Azpen and other miscellaneous chores, Krais was able to catch his breath. With his newly freed time, he established an anniversary for the city. In a way, it seemed out of the blue, but this was exactly what the city needed most.
Why? Because the people needed an outlet.
The Border Guard had triumphed over Azpen, but before they knew it, they had become neighbors sharing a border. Many were not pleased with this. After all, there were those who had lost family or relatives to Azpen. It wasn't as if there were a massive number of such people—they had rarely engaged in large-scale pitched battles—but a somewhat unsettling atmosphere lingered.
Looking at it from the other side, the same was true for Azpen. They were the ones who had suffered more. Azpen tried to resolve the issue by relocating people who had never lived near the border to the borderlands. Naturally, this was Abnayor's handiwork. This was the reason for the massive migration within the Principality.
In such a situation, something was needed to bind them together. That was an anniversary—a festival.
Krais added a few more elements to this.
"Should we make it the Knight Order's Founding Day? Or should we call it Border Guard Protection Day?"
Encrid didn't mind either way, but since he felt the Knight Order hadn't yet gained everyone's consensus, he thought the latter would be better.
Thus, the anniversary known as Border Guard Protection Day was established, and a festival was held. It was a three-day festival of eating and drinking, with a martial arts tournament on the final day.
Each unit held its own preliminaries, and the main tournament was held in the city of Greenpearl. Anyone who wanted to participate could enter, even if they didn't belong to a unit, so the populace was wild with excitement. Instead of the Order Knights themselves, their unit members participated while the knights watched.
The winner would receive a whole pouch of gold coins and, if they wished, an honorable discharge. At this, Rem's unit members went wild. They fought so fiercely during their own preliminaries that the one who actually made it to the main tournament limped onto the training ground.
"Can he even fight, Brother?" Audin asked, watching the scene. His opponent was a martial artist personally trained by Audin and Teresa.
"It doesn't matter if he's missing a leg," Rem snorted.
However, the victory went to Audin's Holy Infantryman.
"Uwooo! I am a bear!"
Though the victory cry was somewhat bizarre.
"Shall I teach you Frok's battle song?" Luagarne asked upon hearing that. Audin politely declined.
"I am quite a singer myself, Frog Sister."
After fully recovering, Luagarne had roamed the mountains like a mad Frok, but recently, she had been sticking close to Encrid's side.
"Next is... oh, Clement the Fallen?"
By now, "Clement the Fallen" had practically solidified into a proper noun. She stepped forward holding a short wooden sword. Her opponent was from the Sword Infantry, where Ragna served as captain and Ropode as vice-captain.
They really named these units however they pleased, Encrid thought to himself as he watched the fight.
It was a constant thought of his: regardless of the level of skill, there was always something to learn from any fight. For that reason, Encrid watched all the matches starting from the main tournament with great pleasure.
The fight was one-sided. Clement didn't just know swordsmanship; she knew how to fight. She would entangle her opponent's sword, rush in to trip them, and strike their Adam's apple with the edge of her hand. Her footwork and the way she channeled her strength were flawless.
"She's good," Luagarne nodded as she watched.
Clement the Fallen had followed Luagarne around to learn a few techniques. She had sought instruction from anyone, not just Frok, and had trained like a madwoman ever since, which had brought her to where she was today.
He didn't even need a discerning eye. Encrid felt something like the flow of Will from Clement the Fallen. It was a sort of intuition—insight, if you will. Just as he saw the future during combat, he saw the traces of one who moves forward in Clement's movements.
"She's going to become an Associate Knight."
Like all Knight Orders, there was a Squire phase before becoming an Associate Knight. In other words, Clement had now reached the level of a Squire. Despite starting as a mere soldier, this was the result of her talent and effort.
"I'll announce that winning the tournament grants entry into the Knight Order," Krais added, overhearing their conversation from behind.
Encrid nodded. It wasn't as if it was a difficult thing to do. Of course, any soldier with a sane mind wouldn't even dream of joining the Order. Encrid was the one who trained far more fiercely than any of them. From afar, he was a cool, respectable hero, but up close, he was just a training maniac.
They weren't called the Order of Madness for nothing.
Even the Hurier family from Azpen had participated in this tournament. The excitement was white-hot, and the winner emerged from Encrid's direct unit.
"Graaaah!"
The winner roared toward the sky. One might have mistaken her for a half-giant. The winner was a female soldier with her hair tied in a single long braid. Her name was Clement the Fallen. She wished to become a Squire of the Knight Order, and so she did.
Thus, the three-day festival came to an end.
After the festival, the Border Guard's city reorganization project rushed forward like a runaway carriage. It was similar to the past when Encrid would return from a trip only to find a new castle wall built. As soon as the festival ended, the city's zoning was restructured.
The areas directly adjacent to the left and right castle walls, where land had previously been secured and expanded, were designated as the outer ring road, and the inner districts were divided into lodging and commercial zones. Artisans were grouped with artisans, and merchants with merchants. It was all Krais's doing.
It was around that time. Encrid was returning to the barracks after training, meeting with Eitri, and traveling back and forth through the city for various matters.
"The festival was so delightful, I couldn't take my eyes off it."
He heard a blind, white-haired old man spouting nonsense in front of the barracks. What did he mean he couldn't take his eyes off it when he was blind? It was a joke on par with elven humor.
It was a sunny autumn afternoon. Just as Encrid laid eyes on the old man and, without knowing why, placed his hand on his hilt—
"Keep your distance."
Sachsen's voice came from behind. Encrid wasn't startled, as Sachsen had subtly made his presence known as he approached. It seemed they had coincidentally returned at the same time.
"Why?"
"That old man is strange."
It was an awkward choice of words coming from Sachsen. If someone was dangerous, they were dangerous; if they were annoying, they were annoying. But strange? It was an expression Encrid had never heard from Sachsen before.