Chapter 561: A Dream to Rid the World of Its Sorrows
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 561: A Dream to Rid the World of Its Sorrows
"What brought this on so suddenly?"
"I simply became curious."
Encrid still didn't know the old man's true identity. However, he felt he understood why the man was here.
It was something felt in the realm of instinct and raw senses.
The old man was taking his measure. So, Encrid let him. He had nothing to hide, nothing to conceal. There was nothing to be gained from secrecy anyway.
Everyone knew this—Krais, Sachsen, and Rem alike.
That was why they let Encrid do as he pleased. The old man didn't smell of blood, nor was he preparing to kill anyone, so why drive him away?
The old man might eventually become an enemy. This wasn't a prophecy or precognition; it was just a feeling. Even so, why kick him out now?
'If an opponent watches me, I can watch them in return.'
It was a lesson Luagarne had taught him.
Watching him, Encrid felt something. The old man also harbored something deep in his heart—something likely similar to his own, and probably similar to Krang’s as well.
A goal so grand and arduous that people often called it a dream.
Cynics might dismiss it as a delusion, but if one was in the process of achieving it, it could no longer be brushed off as mere fantasy.
"In my youth, I wanted to change the world," the old man spoke first.
But it sounded like a lie.
The desire to change the world was sincere, but the part about his youth was not. Speaking as if it were a thing of the past was the falsehood. He still sought to do so now.
Though the direction or form remained unknown, his Will was clear. A vivid Will flared up, unlike the hazy presence from before. Behind the old man's back, something seemed to push away the moonlight.
He expressed his intent upon this night-shrouded earth, watched over by the moon and stars. Knowing better than anyone that the man was sincere, Encrid stopped in his tracks.
"Can you tell me what you intend to do?"
If protecting what lay behind him—no matter the opponent—was his vow and oath... then the dream he wished to achieve by becoming a knight was another matter entirely.
Having nothing to hide, Encrid ignored the old man's lie and spoke.
"I intend to erase war from the continent."
Encrid spoke calmly, as he always did.
It was neither a grand speech nor a desperate declaration of resolve. There was only the simple belief that he would do it, and that it would be done. He did not draw upon his Will to lend power to his words, nor did he react to the sincerity the old man displayed.
Not only was his tone calm, but his attitude and the conviction in his heart were identical. Encrid spoke plainly, casually. His tone was no different than if he were saying he would eat bread and soup tomorrow morning.
It sounded like something completely natural.
"I hear that every single day."
It wasn't bedtime for everyone yet. Though it wasn't exactly cold, Rem—already draped in thermal leather like a cloak—opened the door of the quarters and stepped out as he spoke.
The old man ignored Rem. He also ignored Sachsen, who was subtly radiating killing intent toward him. Instead, he raised his cloudy, cataract-veiled eyes to look at Encrid and continued.
"Do you truly believe you can do that? Do you believe it is possible?"
The old man asked, and Encrid stared straight back at him.
Though curious about the old man's identity, Encrid did not ask. Even if he did, the man wouldn't have answered. He was an old man shrouded in secrets, but there was much to learn simply by observing him.
The old man's technique in manipulating Will was incredibly delicate. For days, Encrid had observed him, used him as a sparring partner, and stolen his tricks. Whenever Encrid asked a question, the old man was quite willing to answer.
From this perspective, it didn't matter to Encrid who the opponent was or where his allegiances lay. Starting from the application of Will learned through echolocation, Encrid had gained a lot by learning various techniques. Meanwhile, the old man had also been observing Encrid and seemed to have accumulated many questions of his own.
Or perhaps, he simply had many things he wanted to say.
"You must not lose to named monsters or the demonic beasts called disasters, and you must be stronger than the unnamed horrors coiled inside the Demon Realm. Can you do that? Truly?"
Once again, Encrid stared blankly at the old man without answering. The old man continued, speaking as if delivering a passionate speech.
"You would have to become a hero who is prudent yet bold, possessing intellect while being flawless in martial might. Could anyone do that unless they were a great figure who only existed in storybooks?"
Could such a person exist? Encrid did not know. But he could give an answer: that such a person wasn't needed.
"I will do it."
His tone was still calm.
"……And your reason for thinking so?"
The old man tilted his head. His head, frozen at an angle, and his cataract-veiled eyes reflected the light of the lighthouse, glowing a dull red.
The old man asked for a reason, and the reason was incredibly simple. Because he had never seen anyone else who said they would do it.
"Because I'm the only one who will," Encrid replied.
It was a grand and foolish dream.
The old man thought so, but he also judged that he could not ignore what this man named Encrid was saying. Having observed him for days, he knew. This man would not stop. Therefore, to break his will, one would have no choice but to kill him.
He didn't show killing intent. He had thought of it for a brief moment, but quickly abandoned the idea. This fellow Encrid ultimately shared the same dream as him. The direction was different, but the outcome was the same.
Finding it utterly amusing, the old man chuckled for a moment and said, "I was curious. Actually, I heard we suffered quite a bit because of you, so I wanted to talk to you in person."
"So, did you have your fun?" Rem chimed in.
"Ah, you kept holding onto me the entire time I was here."
The old man smoothly responded to Rem this time.
"That's because you smell foul, old man," Rem said, resting his axe on his shoulder. He looked ready to split the old man's head open right then and there if he tried anything funny.
If Sachsen had noticed the opponent's anomaly through his senses, Rem had smelled his stench through pure instinct. Ragna, Luagarne, Sinar, and even Audin felt the same. But the reason they let him be was because of Encrid.
Encrid hadn't made a move, the old man hadn't harmed him, and he was even teaching him things.
"And that friend over there is always watching me. Quite an interesting bunch, indeed."
"That friend" was, of course, Sachsen. Whether he was addressed or not, Sachsen merely continued to stare intently.
The old man spoke and turned around. His steps were those of someone departing.
"We shall meet again," the old man said as he walked away. Watching him, Sachsen thought about making a move, but refrained.
"Let him go."
Encrid knew by intuition. The old man had never fully revealed everything he possessed. Yet, there was still so much to learn.
Where did he belong? He didn't know. But he wouldn't be an ally. His intuition remained unchanged.
*
"I must rid the world of its sorrows. That is my dream."
In his youth, the old man had cried out those words, and he had done many things to achieve his goal. That work was still in progress.
"Amusing. Truly amusing."
One had to live a long life to see such things. The old man, one of the Apostles of the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult, thought so. To think that someone could bring such amusement and joy to him, who had lived a long life and was now merely waiting for the day of his death.
The fellow named Encrid was a pleasure to watch for his sheer Will. And seeing how the fellow named Sachsen applied techniques and reacted, he was no less of a master technician than himself.
The old man left the Border Guard on foot. Having stayed up all night, he took his steps as he watched the light of dawn.
Not everyone in the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult shared the same mind. The old man essentially walked a path different from the direction the Cult pursued. But just because the process was different did not mean the destination would be. That was simply the difference between the Cult and the old man now.
And that difference was precisely the value of life the old man pursued.
'Dreams belong to those who dream.'
It felt as if the words the old man had shouted in his youth were returning to him as an echo.
Click!
Activating his echolocation, the old man walked through the night. Since there was only darkness before his eyes, day or night made no difference to him.
Then, he perceived a wagon coming from afar. It was a group of very diligent merchants. As he walked, the number of people around him gradually began to increase. The old man rubbed his cataract-veiled eyes with his hand. A white, powder-like substance flaked off.
At the moment the merchant caravan and the old man crossed paths, the old man vanished. Whether he had soared into the sky or sunk into the ground, he disappeared in a literal instant.
*
"We lost him."
Among those from the Dagger of Geor, there were a few who specialized in tracking. The two guild members who had moved under Sachsen's orders shook their heads. No presence could be felt, nor did he catch their eyes.
Just like that, the old man was gone.
*
Snort.
"Why are you eating this?"
Encrid asked in bewilderment. Odd-Eye merely snorted and shook his head.
It had been a while since he played with Odd-Eye after the old man left. Suddenly, the beast had lunged at him. He had tried to take it as a sign of wanting to play and wrestle, but the horse suddenly pulled a glass bottle containing Sacred Spring Water from Encrid's vest, crunched it open, and drank it.
"...You shouldn't swallow glass shards."
Encrid didn't think it was a waste. He didn't even know what the spring water was useful for anyway. Though he did wonder how Odd-Eye knew about it.
'It's no big deal.'
It was a baffling occurrence, but he didn't think much of it. Stroking Odd-Eye's back for the first time in a while, he felt the spine protruding slightly. He worried if the horse was sick, but seeing him run so well—seemingly in high spirits after drinking the spring water—there appeared to be no issue.
In fact, he seemed to run even better than usual. He kicked off the ground so fast and hard that his hooves almost seemed to hover above the earth.
"Neighhh!"
As if the Sacred Spring Water had been his sole purpose, Odd-Eye had shattered the glass bottle, slurped up the water, and then went on his way, leaving behind nothing but shards.
"It's not like he just came for a drink of water..."
Well, it was just one of those things.
After training as usual and meeting Odd-Eye in between, Encrid returned to his quarters and found a letter waiting for him. It was left behind by the old man.
- I am an Apostle.
The letter contained the old man's confession. Along with the revelation that he was a member of the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult, there was a blatant proposal.
- Would you perhaps join hands with me? Seeing you reminds me of my youth. Especially your face. That is why I say this: I do not wish to make an enemy of you. So, convert to the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult.
"He wrote a load of bullshit with such dedication," Rem remarked, slinking over to glance at the letter.
"A cultist?" Luagarne momentarily flared with anger.
Sachsen muttered, "I should have killed him."
Encrid didn't think much of it. He simply hadn't expected the opponent to be a cultist, nor had he expected to receive such a proposal.
But this was only the beginning. As if to prove how much his renown had grown and how great his deeds were, guests began to arrive in droves.
"I am Bianca Conti. I would prefer if you called me Lady Conti."
A matchmaker had come from the Empire. And the next day, a guest bearing a letter arrived in secret.
"I have come to deliver a message and a letter as instructed."
He was a merchant with sharp eyes and an intelligent air. It was unclear if he was of noble birth, but his clothes were luxurious and his manner of speech was refined. What he brought was a letter and a message from the King of the South.
The merchant was from the south. And his purpose seemed no different from that of the matchmaker. In addition, an invitation arrived from the Trade City. They said they had established a holiday to celebrate autumn and asked him to come before winter arrived. It seemed they were copying the Border Guard Protection Day that Krais had recently created.
And Encrid...
"A request?"
Fundamentally, the Border Guard was a territory directly under the Kingdom, and its forces were the Kingdom's standing army—but that was only on paper. In reality, they were troops under Encrid's command. This was even more true for the Order of Madness.
Krang did not bother to exert any coercive force over the order. Instead of giving them separate orders, he left them to their own devices. Instead, he merely utilized the Soldier Mercenary System for tasks they were needed for.
This time was no different. Krang requested a mission.
"The Saintess?"
Hearing what Krais said, Encrid asked back.
It was an affair that had thrown the continent into an uproar. The Saintess had been kidnapped, and they wanted her rescued. The Theocracy had officially made a request to Naurilia, as the kidnapped Saintess and the culprit had reportedly entered Naurilia.
Various political matters were entangled in this, and strictly speaking, it wasn't something Encrid had to get involved in. At least, that was how Krais saw it. Yet, Krang had gone out of his way to request the Border Guard.
"I'm going."
When Encrid stepped forward, Audin followed.
"Let us go together, brother."
Whether he was curious because it involved a Saintess or had some other thoughts, Encrid did not stop Audin.
"Hey, don't go getting beaten up somewhere just because I'm not around," Rem called out. He claimed he was too busy training the squad members, but it was obvious he was backing out because he found that more amusing.
Next, Ragna stepped forward, but there was no way Encrid could take him along.
"Do you need a guide?"
"Rest."
That was one person politely rejected.
"If you leave me behind this time, I'll cut it off," Sinar chimed in with a joke. Encrid did not ask what she was going to cut off.
Thus, while the two guests from the Empire and the great nation—matchmakers or whatever they were—were causing a fuss, Encrid made his escape.
"Seriously? You're just leaving? Hey, Enki, you bastard! You should at least deal with those two before you go!"
The remaining Krais grumbled, but his words could not reach someone who had already departed. It was hardly good news for the guests from the Empire and the South.
But so what? That was Encrid's attitude.
"An excellent response," Sinar said, taking Encrid's side.