Chapter 691: I Refuse
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 691: I Refuse
"It's a sword."
A simple answer.
"An artifact?"
Encrid pressed. He could tell from the name alone that it was no ordinary object.
He had heard that Ragna had come to claim it and that it was currently in the possession of the head of the house. He also knew that even if Ragna asked for it, the patriarch wouldn't just hand it over quietly.
Deducing from the situation, to receive something called 'Sunrise,' one would have to prove their worth or meet certain conditions. Anyone could figure that much out just by looking at how things were playing out.
‘If Krais were here, he’d be throwing a fit just to get a glimpse of it.’
It was obvious at a glance that this was an item you couldn't see even if you offered a mountain of gold.
"It is an heirloom passed down through generations in our family."
"...And you're planning to take a family heirloom back to the Border Guard?"
"Yes."
Ragna didn't hesitate for a second. His tone was completely flat, no different from when he had simply stated it was a sword.
Encrid knew his own personality was a bit unusual. He was more stubborn and simple-minded than most. To some, that eccentricity made him look like a peculiar person.
‘But I’m nothing compared to this lunatic.’
This guy was definitely crazy. He wanted to take a family heirloom back to the Border Guard? Who on earth would allow that?
Without realizing it, Encrid's eyes narrowed. Noticing his gaze, Ragna spoke.
"That's offensive. Why are you looking at me the same way you look at Rem?"
He spoke as a splash of water cascaded down, soaking his hair and shoulders. He had already stripped naked while they were talking and was scooping up water to pour over himself as he spoke.
Encrid also poured water over himself as he replied. Dirty, dark water trickled down beneath his feet. Having been unable to wash properly for so long, it was a refreshing moment.
"Think about what you just said."
Ragna replied instantly. "I don't see any problem with it."
Encrid started to shake his head, but stopped and gave a self-deprecating reply. "I suppose we're called an order of madmen because we're full of madmen."
The old Ragna would have let it slide out of sheer laziness, but the current Ragna was searching for what he would leave behind. Therefore, he could not let an incorrect statement pass. In truth, even when everything had been a bother, he often couldn't let such remarks slide.
There are some words that just stick in your mind, grating on you so much that you simply cannot ignore them. What Encrid had just said was exactly that. Thus, Ragna provoked him, just as he had learned to do.
"Isn't that name because the Captain goes around breaking nothing but women's hearts?"
Encrid shifted his gaze to Samcheol, which was leaning against the wall. It would be perfect to lightly warm up after washing.
Ragna leaned his back against the edge of the large wooden tub, raising his chin in a mock-arrogant gesture as he continued.
"At least the Captain left behind a legend of breaking women's hearts. What about you?"
Even though Encrid wasn't Ragna's mother, he felt a touch of admiration for his growth.
‘He’s gotten better at provoking people.’
But that didn't necessarily reflect his skill with a sword. Could Ragna escape unscathed from the waves and flashes? Was now a good opportunity to test what he had realized during their journey?
‘Yes.’
Encrid made his decision. There was no deep reason; he did it simply because he wanted to.
Objectively speaking, it was sheer madness. They had been told to wash up and come eat, so he should have behaved. But then again, Encrid had just been stimulated by meeting Ragna's father and mother.
To put it bluntly, his blood was boiling.
Splash.
Encrid pulled his hand out of the water. He treated the water as his scabbard and his hand as his sword. He straightened his fingers and tensed them, shaping his hand into a blade.
Amidst splashing droplets and the heavy steam pressing down on the bathroom, a gentle, cool breeze passed through them. Using his hand as a sword, Encrid slashed. He drew a line that fell straight down from above.
"Crazy bastard."
Ragna let slip a piece of his inner thoughts and raised his own hand in response. His hand and Encrid's crossed in an X.
Smack!
Water droplets sprayed in all directions. Ragna looked into those blazing blue eyes.
The reason for this sudden attack? He didn't want to know, nor did he care to argue. Hadn't he always disliked this guy because he constantly pulled stunts like this? It was no different now.
Encrid was a madman who lived today as if he would die tomorrow. This perspective on life was precisely what Ragna had learned from him the most.
‘A today that is never wasted, no matter the circumstances.’
This was the life he was currently pursuing.
‘What is it that I want?’
He didn't know. He couldn't find the answer. But did not knowing the answer mean he had to stop in his tracks?
"If you don't know, just keep rolling. Do what you can right now."
Encrid always said this. Even if he didn't speak it aloud, he said it through his actions and conveyed his meaning through his attitude. Ragna accepted that meaning now and spoke.
"Let's dye this tub red with blood."
Encrid shot back. "Your blood, you mean?"
Ragna denied it with a blank face. "No."
*
The loud and chaotic bath time finally came to an end.
After washing up, they shook off their dusty clothes and set them aside, and a servant placed clean garments before them.
"I told you two to wash up, so what on earth did you do in there?" Grida asked, wringing out her wet hair. From her perspective, it was a perfectly natural question.
Ragna's hair near his forehead looked as if it had been roughly hacked off, and Encrid had a blue bruise on his cheek from a misplaced blow.
"A conversation."
"Splashing around."
Their answers differed, but there was no need to ask further.
Encrid gave a half-hearted reply and examined the clothes he was wearing. They consisted of grey trousers made of a sturdy outer fabric lined with soft cloth and a stiff beige shirt.
As for his gauntlets and gambeson, he packed them away along with a light green vest undergarment crafted by a Dryas artisan and slung them over his shoulder, keeping his sword belt and weapons with him. Since he never let these things leave his side, Grida didn't say much about it.
Besides, carrying a sword was a daily occurrence within Zaun, so everyone took it for granted. This was a place where even the cooks carried dual swords. For a guest, wearing a blade was only natural.
Anne had also changed into a loose, dress-like outfit, with only a bag slung over her shoulder hanging down to her waist. Unable to tie up her wet hair, she shook it out and let it hang loose over her shoulders. Anne ran her fingers through her hair a few times and took a deep breath. She, too, had come here with a purpose. Since she would have to bring up the matter during dinner, she was feeling nervous.
"Let's go."
Grida led the group once more. As they headed toward the dining hall, a savory and tangy aroma tickled their noses. Having gone without a proper meal for so long, they were looking forward to it. But upon entering the dining hall, Encrid tilted his head in confusion.
One of the people sitting at the wide, oval table looked familiar. It had been so long that he had forgotten the name, but it was definitely a face he knew. Encrid searched his memory to recall the man's name.
"Ray?"
The other man recognized Encrid as well. His eyes widened in surprise, then he frowned and replied.
"...I never revealed my name to you, Encrid of the Border Guard."
He was clearly startled for a moment, but the sheer absurdity of the situation made the answer slip out naturally.
He had brown eyes and an ordinary appearance—the man who had once visited the Border Guard carrying a rapier. He had even left Encrid with an offer to follow him. His sharp, slanted eyes remained in Encrid's memory. While his eyes alone might make him look fierce, he was a strange fellow who gave off a generally soft impression.
As Encrid stared at his face and searched his memories, he also recalled that the man had long arms and used a fast sword.
"Yo." Encrid casually raised his right hand in greeting.
"I don't think we were on close enough terms to greet each other so warmly."
From the man's perspective, it had been so long that it was a miracle Encrid even remembered him.
"Is that so? My memory is a bit hazy."
When Encrid answered honestly, the man pursed his lips a few times before replying. "Right. It's easy to forget."
This man had already heard news of Encrid, so he was only surprised by the fact that they were crossing paths here.
‘Why are you showing up here?’
Such questions arose, but he knew what Encrid had accomplished since becoming a knight.
‘I thought half of it would be exaggeration.’
But seeing him now, he didn't look like an exaggeration at all, which was incredibly fascinating. Still, what was there to say here? Not everything in the world goes as expected. He believed he was highly capable of predicting the future, but he didn't consider himself a prophet.
‘Still, it is surprising.’
Looking at him now, Encrid wasn't just any ordinary knight; his level seemed remarkably high. Of course, he couldn't discern the details with his own eyes. It was the limit of his discernment.
"Now that everyone is here, let us eat," the head of the house said.
‘I heard the son who left long ago brought guests...’
The eyes of the man occupying a seat at the table swept over Ragna.
‘So that one is the child of House Zaun?’
Indeed, even back then, it was obvious his talent was extraordinary.
‘He followed the son.’
He didn't know their purpose, but he could roughly guess the process. Still, a guess was just a guess, and various thoughts swirled in his head. One could truly say that nobody knows how the world will turn. He had never expected to meet a man here whom he had once thought would quickly have his romantic, dream-chasing spirit broken, suffocating in the swamp of despair.
"It seems you two are acquainted?" Ragna's mother asked as she stood up to welcome the guests.
"He stayed in the city once in the past, and back then, he tried to coax me into going with him," Encrid replied. It was a brief summary.
"That's because that is his job," Alexandra said casually, gesturing for them to take their seats. The head of the house sat down first.
Next sat the sharp-eyed man he hadn't seen in a long time, while Ragna sat opposite the head of the house. Anne sat next to Ragna, and Encrid sat next to her. Grida sat beside Alexandra, and Magrun was nowhere to be seen.
As he sat down, Encrid asked, "What do you mean by 'his job'?"
The man had no way to hide his identity here, nor any reason to, so he spoke honestly. "I am a recruiting officer for the Empire."
"A recruiting officer?"
"My job is to wander the continent and make special offers to those with outstanding talent."
Encrid recalled the moment when the man had once asked him to go with him. The Empire's recruiting officer spoke first to prevent any misunderstanding.
"The offer I made to you back then wasn't because I expected martial prowess, but because I wanted you as my successor. I saw that you were sharp and had a knack for handling people."
It was likely because he possessed the talent to anticipate what others wanted to hear that the Empire had appointed him as a recruiting officer. He told Encrid what he would be curious about, revealing his honest thoughts in the process. He had clarified that it wasn't because he saw martial potential, leaving no room for misunderstanding, but Encrid hadn't expected anything anyway, so he just shrugged it off.
He had already known long ago that his talent was terrible. Back when he had barely held a sword, on the day a genius kid had put a hole in his stomach.
"An interesting connection. Let us eat," the head of the house suggested, and no one stood on ceremony.
Encrid first tore into a well-roasted turkey leg. Nearby, Grida sprinkled powdered seasoning over her meat before eating. Savoring the juiciness and rich flavor of the turkey leg, Encrid watched Grida and followed her lead.
Whether it was the northern style or the Zaun style, it was a way of eating meat by sprinkling powder over it. The powder was a combination of several spices, blending spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors.
‘Not bad.’
Overall, the portions were generous, and the meal was heavily meat-focused. In a way, it was a natural menu. House Zaun was said to be a gathering place for people who spent all day swinging swords and training relentlessly.
Had he not seen it on his way here? They lived in stone buildings, each equipped with a private training ground, and a large open space was visible right before the castle.
‘It seems they gather there to mingle as well.’
Indeed, some of them had been loitering around holding blunt, unsharpened swords. Naturally, they would prefer a meat-heavy diet. However, the table did not ignore nutritional balance. Here and there, mashed egg salad, greens drizzled with pressed olive oil and vinegar, and cheese were also visible.
"It's not alcohol, but it will give you a kick."
Ragna handed him a yellowish drink. As Encrid swallowed the beverage from the copper cup, a sour aroma pierced his nose and rushed to his head, followed by the rich flavor of mountain-grown berries swirling through his mouth.
"It's diluted and aged vinegar made from wild raspberries. It's not something you can easily taste."
It was a drink made solely from yellow wild raspberries that grew only in the nearby region, specifically on top of the cliffs.
"I told you I came for an important proposal, yet you brought outsiders," said the recruiting officer, who was barely touching his food.
"It doesn't matter if they hear it," the head of the house replied immediately. He then picked up a napkin and wiped the sauce from his mouth.
"Are you certain?"
"Of course."
The recruiting officer maintained a brief silence before speaking.
"What I am about to say is a proposal from His Imperial Majesty, the great Emperor of the Empire. Become the Shield Duke, Tempest Zaun."
Not knowing the full context of the situation, Encrid simply listened. Well, the mention of the Empire's Emperor didn't surprise him. It was within his expectations from the start. Even before the rapier swordsman revealed he was an imperial recruiting officer, Encrid had deduced that his origin was either the great nation of the south or the empire of the north.
If he hadn't belonged to one of those two, it would have been difficult for him to propose they go together.
‘Presumably, recruiting officers from both the north and south have been scouring the central continent for a long time.’
There must have been many cases where they poached talented individuals. So this was nothing to be surprised about. It was well within the predictable range for anyone who could read the continental situation.
However, it was just intriguing that he could smell something from the man he hadn't smelled before.
‘Strange.’
That scent was the scent of a mage. It wasn't a thick, sweet scent, but it was mages who had attacked their group multiple times on their way here. He hadn't even had the chance to properly mention this to the head of the house yet, but that was the reality.
And the head of the house replied.
"I refuse."
It was a firm, resolute answer, yet so devoid of emotion that it almost seemed half-hearted.