1074. The lingering scent spread today
A cool breeze was blowing. Summer was already passing by.
Still, it was still hot during the day, and the temperature was only comfortable enough to rest after sunset.
Fortunately, Border Guard was a city with a structure that allowed for good airflow. So, it was the kind of day where the heat was bearable if you stayed in the shade.
As Encred and the four of them faced each other, a crowd of onlookers gathered. It wasn’t just one or two; there were so many that the noise of the crowd was uncontrollable.
First, the fallen Clemen, a member of the Knights, cleared the way around to secure a spot, and even Graham, the former lord of the castle, arrived.
What a rare sight.
The Lord, who did not use his age as an excuse or justification, still had a body full of muscle. Clemen performed a military salute toward him. It involved raising his left hand to his waist and bowing his head.
Lord Graham was a man who was fundamentally respected by everyone.
“Well, I don’t even dare to say hello.”
Torres, the newly appointed Lord of Martai, had arrived as well. Having come to the city on other business, he had settled into a corner of the training grounds.
Having gained a little weight in the meantime, he now looked less like the leader of a combat unit and more like a lord devoted to administrative duties.
“Everyone seems crazy. Instead of calling me because you might get hurt, shouldn’t not getting hurt be the priority?”
Next to Clemen, the therapist Anne vented her frustration. Then, looking at Ragnar, she let out a quiet sigh.
As if she could look at him over and over again with affection, she displayed a gentle smile mixed with concern. Whatever the case, it was the expression of a woman who trusted the man she had chosen.
“Will four be enough?”
“I don’t know. Those four aren’t ordinary either.”
While Sinar and Temares were talking like old friends next to them, Leona shook her head from the side.
There is a mountain of work to take care of; is it really necessary to go that far right now?
She knows that her present and today exist thanks to that fighting, but she is a merchant. Merchants consider efficiency and practicality. This is only natural, but she is no ordinary merchant either.
Yeah, you have to do it when you have to.
She said this again. Because she is a true merchant who knows how to see the value of people, not just mere practicality.
I want to stop you, too, but for now, I’m just looking forward to it.
This is what Rosalind is saying from the side.
“expectation?”
Leona asked back.
“Right. I look forward to it.”
Rosalind stopped there. No further explanation was needed. Leona didn’t ask again, either.
If asked why, she would answer that even she, who only knew simple self-defense, felt her heart race at the sight of Encred and the Mad Knights.
Fight against the Demon Realm.
He is the one who brought this single simple sentence into reality and made it a reality. Leona’s heart pounded. Wouldn’t anyone covet a man like that? Just
as she was thinking this, a scent resembling the night sky approached right beside her. Long, black hair swayed like silk.
A witch stood still, facing the blowing wind. Her eyes were blue like a lake, and her nose bridge, straight forehead, and red lips possessed a beauty that would make even a woman gasp in awe.
“Did you come?”
Fairies are attached to the side of such a witch. One is nicknamed the Black Flower, and the other the Golden Witch. There is also a woman who calls Enkrid “My Enki,” while the other refers to him as her fiancé.
Just like the witch, the beauty of the fairies makes one realize what superhuman beauty truly is the moment they are seen.
Everything forms perfect symmetry centered on the bridge of the nose, and between them, a vibrant green gem shines like an emerald.
Meanwhile, although her expression used to always be stiff and she looked like a rigid doll, lately, her face has been filled with life.
Sinar looked at Leona, smiling with only the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly, and pretended to know her.
Lord Sinar.
Leona bowed her head in response and called her name. She had received great help from the various items coming out of the Fairy City. It was all thanks to the guidance of her, the ruler of the city.
“Fine, covet only what you can covet. Lord Lockfried.”
That’s a sharp observation. Leona nodded.
Are you planning to kill each other?
Esther, the Witch of the Stars, spoke while looking straight ahead. In her eyes, they were displaying the light within them to the fullest. Knights usually emitted such light only when they were killing each other.
The light emanating from Encred was particularly impressive.
It did not shine dazzlingly brightly, but rather enveloped the surroundings, enveloping the light of the four.
There was certainly a time when he was beaten to a pulp wherever he went, yet somehow he had come this far.
Esther was deeply moved, even though it was not the right time or place for such emotion. She recalled the time he cut through the walking fire, the moment she had embraced him and the conversations they had shared, and the magic book he had brought back after killing the cultist sorcerer.
All those moments simply flashed through her mind like that.
I guess I don’t need to ask who I’m rooting for.
Sinar spoke from the side.
Soldier Marco moved the people around him further back. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed that anyone below a certain level would not even be able to watch unless someone was guarding them.
Just as Sinar and Esther were staying by Leona and Anne’s side, it was impossible to even look around without protection.
Marco’s judgment was accurate. On one side, Clemen nodded and praised what he had done.
“Step back a little more. Unless you want a flying stone to put a hole in your head.”
Marco pushed the chests of the clumsy ones.
Kreis, Abnaier, and Edin Molsen gathered in one place, while Roford, Pell, Theresa, and Dunbakel stood in front of them. The four silently heightened their concentration, staring only straight ahead. Watching them tense their eyes and repeatedly clench and unclench their hands, it was a scene where a moderate amount of tension and anticipation arose simultaneously.
“Didn’t I say that seeing things like this gives you a sense of relief?”
Abnaier, standing quite a distance behind, asked in a muttered tone. Kreis nodded.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not relief, but actually anxiety. Was this the reason they didn’t lay expensive stones in this training ground for no reason?”
Edin saw that the entire area would be shattered and crushed by their mere sparring. They were monsters capable of altering the terrain if they fought with determination.
Knights are called a disaster, yet these five were the disasters of disasters, capable of beating even that disaster to pieces.
In the first place, the training ground—no, the interior of the city—should not be the stage for them to fight seriously. Edin genuinely believed this, but he could not stop them. They were not incapable of thinking that
far ahead .
In Edin’s eyes, Enkrid was a thoughtful and affectionate person.
That man’s biggest weakness is.
It is a heart that wants to save people. My father was filled with nothing but ruthlessness rather than kindness, but the man named Enkrid is filled with only kindness instead of ruthlessness.
I am satisfied being under him because I like that, but I also feel a sense of unease for no reason.
After all, isn’t he a devil?
Of course, to ensure that such a thing does not happen, Kreis, Abnaier, and I myself are racking our brains and working ourselves to the bone.
Win. No matter who your opponent is.
“I don’t want to see that man lose, not even in a sparring match.” That was Edin’s true feeling.
The parricide who once wished for his father’s death had now become someone cheering for a man’s noble heart.
* * *
“It seems like no one is cheering for us. Am I mistaken?”
Rem asks. Encred answered without a trace of a smile.
“Do you need cheering? Here, I will. Hang in there, Rem. Think of your wife and child in the West. I’m cheering for the future you, clinging to your wife and whining after getting beaten up.”
“……Hey, it seems your talent for making people swear has only gotten better?”
“Me?”
Enkrid asked back with the same expression and spread his left foot slightly outward. Sachsen pushed his foot back silently and stopped.
Is it within the realm of perception?
Saxony looked at his captain with a questioning gaze. He opened his mouth without even looking at Saxony.
“Ragna, have you trained a bit? How does it feel to be caught up after charging at me relying only on your meager talent? Do you perhaps miss your stepmother back home?”
Today, the words were unusually full of thorns. It wasn’t directed at me, and even though I knew it wasn’t sincere, it was enough to make my stomach churn.
Yet, Ragnar remained composed.
“That stepmother’s skills were a great help this time anyway. Would it be alright to fight the devil with just one arm missing?”
“Are you going to start by cutting off your own arm? No, you don’t have to. I’m not that cruel.”
“I can’t win with words,” Saxen thought, mixing the aura emanating from his body with his surroundings this time. As he passed behind Rem and attempted to move using Audin’s back as an obstacle, Enkrid stared at him intently.
Saxony is clumsy.
Concealing his presence and hiding was Saxony’s specialty. The very fact that such a skill was called clumsy was an insult. But was he going to get worked up because of that?
Saxony calmly composed himself. If he couldn’t hide before he started.
You have to aim while the fight is in progress.
I guess I’ll have to step up today feeling like I’m facing a devil. If I fight half-heartedly, it doesn’t look like it will end with just a broken bone.
“Will you be okay with the four of us, brother?”
Audin spoke first.
“Oh, it’s fine. I said let’s do it because it’s fine. Now, Lord Father, here comes your youngest son, Audin.”
It was an extraordinary ability to keep spouting such words without even changing his expression or catching his breath.
In an instant, the world turned black. Rem sensed the change first and swung his axe. The axe swung from below splits the blackened world.
Where did you get such intimidation?
Encred suddenly revealed his skill of spreading the Will he harbored to change the form of intimidation.
Rem overcame the momentary blockage of his vision with an axe swing, while Audin wielded love and mercy.
Bang, bang, crash!
It sounded like an earthquake causing several buildings to collapse. The ground actually shook because Audin had stomped his foot.
At this, Ragnar’s sword was drawn and sliced through the air.
Calling.
The speed of drawing the sword was slow, but the sunrise swung after it was drawn was faster than ever.
Whoaah!
And so, flames erupted in the spot where the sunrise had passed. Even though there was nothing to burn, a line of fire was drawn in the air before fading away.
In the meantime, Saxony had vanished completely. Between the three, Encreed stabbed Oneul toward Ragnar’s chest and kicked Rem in the shin.
Audin ran, chasing the trace of Encreed who had momentarily pounced on him before disappearing.
It looked like a bear devouring a rabbit, but this was no ordinary rabbit.
It moved as if it alone had six hands instead of two. Afterimages lingered even in a world of silence. It was a speed that surpassed even the reflexes of a knight.
The minimum requirement to face four knights was to be faster than them. Encreed did just that. He moved faster.
The four mingled once again. Their weapons did not meet. Everyone responded while looking just a step ahead, slashing, striking, and pounding the air as if by prearranged agreement.
Bang, thump, hiss!
Noise could be heard, but not a single stone flew nearby. Instead, whirlwinds arose a few times, but the onlookers scattered them away.
Everyone watching believed the fight would not last long, yet the sparring session, which began in the late afternoon, continued.
Although there were moments of sudden disappearance, if one looked back from the beginning, there were very few instances where figures vanished in a flash.
From the perspective of the spectators, all one saw was Ragnar suddenly slashing through the air, followed by Rem clicking his tongue in disapproval and stepping back.
Meanwhile, Encred thrust into empty air or swung his elbows backward.
He would also glare at the void, raising and then lowering his hands from his bosom.
The sun was setting. There were no shockwaves or roars, yet everyone watching held their breath.
If asked why, the answer would simply be that it felt that way.
Should one say it was dizzying just to watch?
Only Sinar, Temaris, Theresa, Dunbakel, Pell, and Roford were aware of the unfolding situation.
Even if we clash swords just once.
A fierce battle begins, one that could lead to death.
That is how Roford saw it; they all slashed and thrust into the empty air until the sunset dyed the surroundings orange, the sun finally set, the sky grew darker, and the starlight revealed itself. They never once clashed swords with one another.
Not a single spectator moved their feet.
It was a duel they had watched while starving until evening.
Then, in an instant, Saxen stopped, and the fight ended. Before anyone realized it, Encred’s face was full of smiles.
But it wasn’t just Encred. All four of them were smiling. Saxen raised the corners of his mouth gently, Audin caught his breath and called out to the Lord in joy, and Ragnar also ran his hand through his hair and smiled with satisfaction. Rem let out a sigh, laughed, and asked.
Is it good?
Encred answered immediately.
“uh.”
If you were to ask Encred what the most enjoyable thing in the world is, he would answer that it is moments like this.
Grilling meat over a campfire and chatting is nice, peaceful rest is nice, eating delicious food is nice, and music is nice.
Still, wielding his sword like this was the best.
If he were to give a reason, he might say that the sword he swings today will protect him tomorrow and give him the strength to support someone else’s dreams. But if
you really think about it, Encred had simply been a child who was obsessed with swinging a sword and swordsmanship since he was young.
With some of the onlookers’ legs giving way, Encred opened his mouth.
One more round?
The feeling that it was really fun was clearly visible on his face.
“……Anyway, crazy.”
Upon hearing that, Kreis muttered, and Abnaier and Edin Molsen realized once again why seeing them brought a sense of relief. Anyone
who felt anxious seeing that would be the weirder one.
Alright, I’ll join in this time.
Sinar is one of the people who read the entire course of the battle.
“me too.”
And that’s the theme dress.
Now, let’s stop looking here. If we look any further, we’ll be the first to collapse.
Crys settled the situation. Encred stayed up all night. He did so holding a sword instead of a campfire.
“Wow, you’re doing that here?”
Naturally, Dunbakel was involved, and Theresa, Pell, and Roford joined in as well.
Clemen clumsily jumped in to learn a few moves, and those soldiers who showed talent also learned by gradually breaking through the limits I knew.
The commander of the assault unit trained by Rem grumbled that he had gotten beaten up just for watching, but he continued to charge and keep rolling around. Most of the soldiers laughed like Enkrid.
What was the lingering scent Enkrid had spread today?
Was it the joy of effort, or merely a momentary euphoria?
Whatever it was, for the first time in a very long time, the entire Border Guard standing army was affected by it.
Starting the next day, another training frenzy swept through. The same was true for the Order of the Mad Knights.
Crys watched as Enkrid, whom he had expected to urge them to go kill demons immediately, was completely immersed in training.
The Order of the Mad Knights lived up to their name. They sparred, fought, and devoted themselves to training just like madmen.
