Chapter 683: Spring Sunshine and Mist
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 683: Spring Sunshine and Mist
"I’ve always felt that tracking and hunting didn't suit me. I never liked them, either. To put it simply, they weren't fun. So, what did I do instead?"
Odinkar paused, letting the question hang in the air. Normally, this was the kind of story where someone would ask why he was bringing it up so suddenly, and indeed, Encrid and Ragna were both wearing expressions of utter confusion.
Grida was the one who answered.
"You ran."
"Like a mindless brute," Magrun added naturally.
The two of them were well-acquainted with Odinkar’s quirks. At their answers, Odinkar nodded.
"Yeah. When it comes to running, there aren't many who can catch me. Even if someone sets a trap ahead, if I'm on my own, I don't have to stick to the established roads, so the chances of getting caught are low. And if I spot trouble beforehand, I can deal with it and keep moving."
Odinkar was no fool; he wasn't simply suggesting he charge ahead to court danger. Instead of the path they had been riding on horseback, he intended to tread the black soil to the left and cross the distant mountains.
"We're not discussing the method, nor are we weighing whether it's possible. Why do you want to go ahead?" Grida asked. They didn't even know who the enemy was or what they were after, so was it wise to split the group?
Her instinct as a pathfinder told her no.
From a knight's perspective, however, it was a proposal worth considering.
Moreover, although he had jokingly said he would stay behind ever since they were with the Border Guard, Odinkar had repeatedly mentioned feeling uneasy before arriving here. Even after meeting Encrid, he had said that while it was fun, he felt like this wasn't where he belonged.
"It's not a bad idea. Nothing could have happened to Zaun. Not a chance. But they might not be entirely ignorant of what's going on right now. You could stop by the Hunter Village on your way and ask them to send help to welcome us," Magrun added.
The Hunter Village was one of the settlements surrounding Zaun. Those who had made it to Zaun but ultimately failed to receive the family name sometimes returned to their hometowns, but those who had nowhere left to go settled nearby. The Hunter Village was one such place.
"So you're saying it's efficient," Grida nodded. That was the core of Odinkar’s proposal.
"I can push ahead and perhaps trigger whatever the enemy has prepared. Even if that's not the case, as Magrun said, I can go first and report what's happening here. I'm not sure about stopping by the Hunter Village first, though. If I'm on my own, I can just head straight to Zaun," Odinkar continued.
As he spoke, he looked like he was itching to move. To Encrid, it seemed as though he would bolt the instant someone yelled, "Run!"
Whatever the case, his words were spoken with a clear view of the current situation.
Knights are not omnipotent. They are called calamities because they achieve things beyond the ordinary realm of human capability, but the knights themselves knew exactly what they could and could not do. If they didn't, they would become intoxicated by a sense of omnipotence and repeatedly exhaust themselves.
The important thing here was that the only thing Odinkar could do within this group was keep pace with them. His specialty was neither tracking nor detection.
On the other hand, Magrun was excellent at reading the path and grasping the situation. Grida was leading them as their pathfinder, and she was also capable of discerning the enemy's intentions from an observer's perspective.
Of course, they could have had either Magrun or Grida stay while the other left, but both of them had vital roles to play here. In other words, there was no particular reason for either of them to leave.
But Odinkar was like a sword kept in its sheath—useless unless he was directly clashing blades. A sheathed sword isn't worthless, but isn't it foolish to carry a sword without drawing it? Odinkar possessed basic tracking and detection skills, but since he didn't excel in them, he was a sword trapped in its scabbard.
Therefore, the best course of action for him might indeed be to leave first.
Encrid thought to himself that he didn't know whether what the ferryman had shown him was tomorrow, or if it was a mockery meant to make him despair again by showing him the "today" he was trapped in first. Even less did he know if the current choice was the right one.
But he knew that what was needed right now was to set the stage so that everyone could do what they were capable of.
In other words, Odinkar could leave.
"You're sharp," Grida said to Encrid, as if wrapping up the situation.
Encrid nodded and replied, "Usually, women say that after exchanging three or four words with me. I suppose you could call it one of my seventeen charms."
"...Are you seriously joking at a time like this? You're a crazy bastard, through and through."
Magrun shook his head, spitting venom as usual. It was as if he had a disease where his tongue would rot if he didn't say something nasty at least once a day.
Encrid looked at him with pity. Why couldn't he just accept the truth instead of spitting such thorny words? It was because of his pessimistic view of the world. While that pessimism had given him the eyes to coolly analyze the elements of swordsmanship and dissect techniques, it had conversely left him with a critical, accusatory gaze toward the world.
This was Magrun's deficiency.
Encrid had learned many things from Sinar, and one of them was that jokes must be delivered shamelessly. Also, that no matter what you say, you must puff out your chest.
So, he did just that.
"I only spoke the truth."
"Aren't you just something special? Huh?" Grida took up the thread. Her gaze briefly flicked over to Anne.
Unless she was a fool, Anne must know that the monsters had targeted her. Because of that, she might feel as though the current situation had somehow gotten tangled because of her presence.
The joke Encrid had cracked just now was out of consideration for Anne. The others, having reached the level of knights, seemed somewhat relaxed, but the freckled healer wouldn't be able to feel that way.
"That's hard to listen to," Anne chimed in, whether she had caught on or was just acting out of habit.
While they were exchanging those jokes, a long shadow fell over the campfire.
"Well, I'll head out first then."
It was Odinkar. He had stood up after roughly packing his gear and other necessities. Carrying a heavy pack on one's back reduces mobility and gets in the way. Preparing for potential combat, Odinkar only took a small bag slung diagonally from his hip to his back.
It contained simple preserved rations and knight's rations—which, if one ignored the taste, could fill the stomach just by mixing with water. If an ordinary person ate knight's rations, they would suffer from indigestion and nausea, but knights were heavy eaters to begin with, and if they ate while running, they would digest it naturally.
Odinkar cast a final glance at Encrid and said, "See you in Zaun."
Encrid nodded in response. Odinkar stroked the mane of the horse that had carried him, whispered his thanks, and strode off into the darkness.
Since the clouds shrouded the moon tonight, as he moved away from the light source, it looked as though he were walking straight into the gaping maw of a monster waiting in the distant dark.
Well, if a monster of that size were nearby, its scent and presence would have been felt, so such a thing was practically impossible.
And even if something like that did happen, wouldn't someone of his caliber just cut his way out?
He watched Odinkar's back disappear into the darkness. That man was likely one of the strongest even within Zaun. Because he possessed such skill, they weren't anxious about sending him alone.
They didn't know what form this decision would take later, but for now, they did it simply because it was a viable option. If he had brought it up and everyone had opposed it, he wouldn't have forced the issue, but they had all followed Encrid's suggestion.
Magrun pondered the unfolding situation and looked at Encrid. He saw him sitting quietly by the campfire, rummaging through his things.
Why did everyone so readily follow Enki's words? Because his opinion was reasonable?
Or was it because, after spending several months together, he had realized that man's insight was extraordinary?
Or...
Have I unconsciously developed a tendency to follow him?
Encrid was indeed a man who possessed a strange charm that naturally made others follow his lead.
He didn't get the nickname 'Charming' for nothing.
Wasn't it said that the entire unit had become training fanatics after seeing him stubbornly persist in his grueling training?
Magrun looked at the transformed Border Guard Standing Army. Though he hadn't seen them before, he knew they were far from ordinary, as he was well aware that no other unit of this caliber existed anywhere on the continent.
If there was any unit that could compare...
Maybe the Imperial Army, but even then, who knows.
He didn't know how a real clash would turn out, but in terms of the sheer quality of the troops, they were a worthy comparison.
*
"Traveling together like this is what's weird. We do perfectly fine on our own. Even Ragna over there set out on his own when he was a kid," Grida remarked as they talked.
"It's a path where you only need to walk by the moonlight, after all. No need to take any complicated detours," Ragna agreed.
"...It's a miracle that bastard is still alive. Shouldn't he have slipped and died somewhere a long time ago? In a Demon Realm or off a cliff?" Ragna's sister expressed her concern for her brother. Her brother responded to her worried words with equally affectionate language.
"Where do you keep your eyes? Do you not only fail to remember faces but also fail to find your way? Why would I walk off a cliff when I can see it right in front of me?"
As long as they weren't drawing their swords to kill each other, it was probably safe to call it affectionate. Encrid decided to view it that way.
The two of them continued their friendly banter, maintaining that "affectionate" attitude a few more times.
"A cliff is something you can just leap down, anyway. Ah, can you not do that?"
"My brother, who is like the son of a bitch. You sound just like Rem, don't you?"
Grida showed off her experience of wandering the continent by mixing in various slang, along with some curses she had recently learned. It was wordplay that would have fully justified Rem drawing his axe on the spot had he heard it.
Listening to their friendly chat made Encrid feel like washing his ears. Even in most mercenary bands, they wouldn't share such bloodthirsty banter.
"I don't know what's going on here."
"Me neither."
Beside them, Magrun and Anne exchanged words, completely ignoring the duo's comedy routine.
The red glow of the campfire flushed Anne's face. Despite the circumstances, Anne did not say she would turn back. She only said the opposite.
"I must see that disease."
She didn't say "personally" or "with my own eyes," but her meaning was perfectly clear.
"Do as you wish."
Encrid respected Anne's decision. She had been an impressive child ever since they first met. She viewed even alchemy as a means to heal people. Then, was what Anne practiced alchemy, or was it healing magic? He didn't know. She could call it whatever she wanted.
Encrid pulled out his weapons and began laying them out by the campfire. It was maintenance time.
There were ten Horn Trumpet Daggers, which Sachsen had once said possessed as much aesthetic appeal as a Human-faced Dog or Rem. In addition, there was the Samcheol Sword and Penna. He had also brought along a shortsword forged with Valerian steel, just in case.
Since he had a habit of keeping his weapons on his person as much as possible, he didn't have any weapons hanging separately from his saddle. It was a habit learned during his mercenary days. He hadn't been told to do so by anyone in particular; he had simply observed what others did and followed suit.
Among mercenaries, this was referred to as "keeping your weapons glued to your body."
"I see you've done mercenary work too," Grida, who was highly observant, remarked. She also had experience wandering the continent and had naturally set foot in the mercenary world.
She, too, pulled out all her weapons to inspect them. Oiling what needed oiling, checking if any fittings had come loose—the standard tasks. As Ragna and Magrun joined in, soon only the clinking of metal echoed in the air.
Afterward came a quiet period of rest. They all knew how to sleep as much as needed, whenever needed.
And so they did. Anne also relaxed and fell asleep before long. Encrid kept a portion of his senses alert even while sleeping, but the morning sun rose without incident.
After stretching, finishing their breakfast, and taking care of their business, they were ready. Without any trouble, the group set off once more.
Black soil, vast plains, and occasional rolling hills. There were ridges so high that one couldn't see past them even on horseback, and others that barely reached Anne's waist. It was a land that rolled like waves.
As they walked with the lazy spring sunshine over their right shoulders, it happened.
A few trees stood in the middle of the wide expanse, and mist began to spread, centering around them.
It was an artificial and abnormal phenomenon by any standard. Moreover, it was something Encrid had experienced once before.