Chapter 822: Blegh
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 822: Blegh
Light washed over her face. Her black hair shimmered in the radiance, and a second Esther coalesced behind her.
However, that Esther was woven entirely from lines and shadows—a void of pure black. It was merely a shadow. Yet, perhaps because it belonged to such a beauty, even that shadow looked like a work of art composed of elegant, sweeping strokes.
"I think someone is coming for me," Esther said.
"Who?"
"Those who have fallen into heresy, lost themselves, and been consumed by 'truth.' Those who are like beasts, yet trapped in a well of foolishness, believing themselves superior to all others."
Grand words, indeed. But they were fitting for those she spoke of. Encrid blinked once and replied.
"So, a few half-witted mages or witches are on their way?"
Encrid’s ability to summarize a situation was always top-notch. After a brief pause, Esther let out a soft chuckle. Her blue eyes curved beautifully. It wasn't wrong to describe them that way.
"Yes."
The witch who was once a panther nodded. Danger was approaching, and it was coming solely for her.
A needless risk.
It was a threat that would pursue her for the rest of her life, but not him. Was there any reason for this man to shoulder such a burden? Should she weigh him down further by staying at his side when the minions of demons were hunting her?
In a similar situation, Sinar had left on her own and nearly became the demon's bride.
They might be half-witted mages or witches, but an ignorant fool obsessed with a single dogma is always the most dangerous. And that was exactly what they were—creatures who had fallen into heresy, believing the narrow "truth" they clung to was the only reality in existence.
By experiencing Fantasia, the realm of illusion, Esther had constructed a new world of spells. Even so, she judged these pursuers to be a genuine threat.
Esther could draw these threats away from Encrid and eliminate them herself. All she had to do was leave the Border Guard.
The golden sunset illuminated the face of the man whose eyes held a color similar to her own. Esther’s gaze remained fixed on him. The harmony of orange and gold made his features shine brighter than usual.
A face that eight out of ten city women would fall for.
Esther knew that letters from noblewomen still arrived for him. If they saw him like this, it would all make perfect sense.
Encrid, who had been gazing at the golden horizon, met Esther’s eyes.
"Alright, I'll fight with you."
A simple, firm, and honest answer. A statement that left no room for argument.
"What?" Esther asked.
"Wasn't that what you were going to say?" Encrid’s gaze drifted back toward the sunset.
"It was."
Esther wasn't flustered. She didn't try to persuade him otherwise. She simply agreed. It was an answer he had already given the moment she asked if he would stand behind her.
Even if she left the Border Guard, she could deal with those heretics alone, but it would take a very long time. During that time, she would have to be away from him. Esther finally knew what she truly wanted.
I don't want to be someone who walks alone.
Just as her master gazed at the stars, Esther sought those who would embroider her life. They were people. Friends. Acquaintances. There were those who looked to her to learn spells, and there was the merchant who handed her marmalade with a simple, kind smile.
They had all become her purpose. Spells were merely a means, never the end.
The man who dreamed of becoming a knight had achieved his goal, yet he did not stop. His desire was not simply to be a knight, but to achieve something that could only be done by becoming one.
Not that researching spells isn't fun, though.
There was no law stating that exploring magic required shunning the world. There was even less need to lock oneself in a back room to study or hide away in a forest cabin.
Mages were associated with two great disasters in history. One was the summoning of the demon known as the Father of the Dead, and the other was the release of the Salamander, the demonic beast of flame. Although the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult played the lead role in summoning the flame beast, there were undoubtedly spellcasters pulling the strings from the shadows.
That history had forced them into hiding.
"Burn them to death."
At one point, burning witches and mages at the stake had been a common practice. Of course, anyone who was actually a "Glimpser" wouldn't have been easily caught, so it was mostly innocent people who ended up in the flames.
Esther thought to herself: There is no need to walk the same path as everyone else.
The ideologies built on the experiences of mages from past eras had lost their meaning to her.
Manipulating the spell world is fun.
The act of pursuing knowledge and realizing something new brought her a thrilling ecstasy. She would enjoy the act of wielding spells for its own sake, but she would keep the means as a means. Therefore, she had no hesitation in taking steps toward what she truly desired.
The two stood side by side, watching the sun dip lower. The colors of the sky shifted, violet blending into the orange light as thin lines of shadow brushed against their faces.
"What are you two doing?"
Then, the elf arrived.
It was a sudden intrusion, yet for some reason, it brought a smile to their faces. Sinar approached with light, rhythmic footsteps. When Encrid laughed, Sinar spoke again in a nonchalant tone.
"It feels like I'm watching a fiancé trying to laugh off a difficult situation."
An elf, unable to lie, still knew how to distort the truth. She spoke words that twisted what she saw, presenting her interpretation as absolute fact.
"How is your body?" Encrid asked. The final kick that killed the Balrog had been hers.
"I am fully recovered now. If you wish, I can prove it to you in bed."
The level of her jokes had escalated. Encrid just laughed at that as well.
And so the sun set. The gold turned to orange, faded into a faint violet, and then deepened into indigo. Once the sun had vanished, Rem declared he had brought some rare liquor from somewhere and started a drinking party.
For some reason, everyone gathered to join in.
"It is a party to celebrate my return," Sinar claimed.
"What kind of nonsense is that? Did you hit your head?" Rem shot back.
Meanwhile, Krais announced he had prepared a barbecue and began roasting a whole marinated pig.
"Let me tell you the life story of the most handsome man in the West."
Rem, having drunk his fill, spun a tale based entirely on his imagination. Encrid listened intently. Stories were always entertaining, and no matter how absurd the tale, Encrid was the kind of person who could find enjoyment in it.
Sachsen chuckled at Rem's boasting. The real deal was always relaxed.
"It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but the God of War is generous when it comes to love. He never commanded us to reject those who approach us," Audin chimed in, clearly about to recount an incident from his youth.
"Is this the story about meeting a female bear?" Pel asked, his cheeks flushed from what seemed to be incredibly potent liquor.
Encrid stared at Pel’s face for a moment. Wasn't this a face he might see today and never see again? Just a moment ago, Pel had spoken with the same irreverence as Rem—an offense for which he could have been decapitated on the spot in a stricter company.
"Do you wish to go to the Lord's side, brother?" Audin asked.
Pel blinked, seeming to sober up for a brief second. "Ah, no, not really."
Rem cackled, telling him to just admit he was a bear beastman. Audin swung the edge of his hand in a mock strike, and Rem caught it barehanded. It was playful bickering.
The liquor wasn't just any ordinary drink; it was hitting everyone hard.
"They said you'd die if you drank this every day," Rem said, waving a hand in the air.
"Whew! Anxiety? Worry? I'm not a guy who does that, huh? Tell those demon bastards to bring it on! I'll kill them! Me!" Even Krais was drunk.
Encrid quietly watched the spectacle.
"I shall sing a song. Now, clean your ears and listen."
Teresa suddenly stood up. In her light attire, the powerful muscles of her forearms were exposed. She was a half-giant, possessing enough strength to beat an opponent to death with those fists, using the sound of the impact as an instrument. Yet, her voice was incredibly pleasant—husky, raspy, yet clear.
It was a voice of dual qualities. It reminded him of when he drank the Founding Liquor; truly good alcohol was rich yet subtle. Her voice was exactly like that.
The song Teresa sang was called "Wandering Jack." Though the lyrics varied by region, it was a song known across the continent—a story about a man named Jack who finally settled down after finding true love.
Her voice relaxed the tension in Encrid's body. Was this what Audin called a holy chant? In her drunken state, she had begun using divine power. Just listening to her caused the fatigue accumulated in his bones to disperse. She was showing off all sorts of talents while intoxicated.
"Why is everyone such a lightweight?"
Ropode shook his head, took off his shoes, set them aside, folded his pants neatly, and began preparing to sleep in a corner of the training ground.
"And why is everyone doing this in front of my room?" Ropode clicked his tongue and lay down. He muttered that the bed was soft, even though he was lying on the bare ground, and fell asleep instantly.
No one stopped him. There was no one left to stop him. Ragna had been sipping his drink and was already fast asleep.
Even for Encrid, a natural-born heavy drinker, the liquor was remarkably strong. His head was spinning.
Even after the sunset faded, the starlight was brilliant. On the earth illuminated by the moon, Esther used a spell to keep the night bugs away. Sinar, in her drunken state, loudly declared her ambition to have exactly twenty children. Luagarne dug a shallow trench in the ground and lay inside it.
"This is nice," she whispered, enjoying the moisture rising from the soil.
The minions of demons were coming, yet everyone remained the same. Encrid was no fool, nor was he turning a blind eye to the situation. Beyond this brief respite, something even greater awaited him at his destination.
There were demons in the Demon Realm, and threats still abounded on the continent. These were enemies that could not be compared to the Black Sword Bandits or a Gnoll Colony. Naurilia faced a greedy enemy in the South, and the schemes of Southern spies in the capital proved the threat was closer than ever. Esther had spoken of the unpleasant group coming for her. Tomorrow, several monster colonies might suddenly rush the gates. It was entirely possible for a legendary monster, known only through myth, to appear.
It was enough to grow a forest of anxiety, yet not a single person faltered. They simply lived today, upright and true.
"Whew, that crazy barbarian brought some crazy liquor. Crazy captain. It's a crazy day, but it's also a crazily good day."
Seeing even Sachsen get drunk and talk like this, it was hard to say there was any order left tonight. But Encrid smiled. They did not linger in today; they marched toward tomorrow.
There was no "today" that was not precious. This moment was so beautiful precisely because it was a today that would never return. From the moment he first faced the repetition of time until now, Encrid had not changed. He remained exactly as he was.
Closing his eyes and savoring the peace, he resolved to gift this kind of tranquility to everyone standing behind him.
* * *
Having fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, the moment Encrid realized he was aboard a swaying ferryboat, he leaned half his body over the side.
"Blegh."
"...In all my life, I've never seen anyone throw up on this boat. What on earth did you drink?"
It was a liquor so strong it had intoxicated not just his body, but his very spirit.
As Encrid let out a long breath, the alcohol's effects began to fade. He had only felt that way because he fell asleep after drinking so much; this place was a dream, a mindscape to which the Ferryman had invited him. It was impossible for him to actually be drunk here.
Yet, he had retched anyway. It was a conditioned reflex. The combination of the potent liquor, the dim night, and the swaying of the boat had turned his stomach inside out.
"Phew." Encrid exhaled slowly.
"I think I can actually smell the alcohol," the Ferryman said.
Today, the Ferryman was gentle. He seemed softer, kinder than ever before. At least, that was how it felt.