Chapter 114 - Because He Had Crawled Forward

The soldier who had shown Encrid to his quarters discreetly rubbed his eyes. He must have seen something wrong. 'Am I seeing this right?'

Surely not. Something had to be wrong with his eyes. The moment he saw his Platoon Commander, the soldier named Ragna stood up.

'Why the hell are you jumping to your feet?' This was Ragna, who so rarely left his seat that even among the Lunatic Platoon, he was called the lazy lunatic. And now he was up in a flash? Anyone who had watched him before, especially recently, would have slapped their thighs and leaped from their seats at the sight. 'What's gotten into him?'

That bastard could shock everyone around him just by standing up. Wasn't this the same crazy, lazy fuck who never listened, no matter how often people told him to get up, get out, or that enemy soldiers were right in front of him? "You're late."

Ragna spoke curtly and picked up his sword.

"I should check whether you've regressed in the meantime..." As if standing up weren't enough, he was asking to spar? Taking the initiative himself? He sometimes traded harsh words with the others in his squad, but usually he wouldn't even acknowledge people speaking to him. Now that same man was proposing a spar. Sword in hand, he burned with eagerness, as though itching to move. Anyone could see he wanted to step out and start swinging that instant. "Are you nuts?"

Rem blocked the lazy lunatic Ragna's path.

"Didn't you know I always get the first spar? Isn't that right?" What was wrong with this one now? This was the man they called simply the lunatic. In other words, the craziest bastard in the platoon. The lunatic who swung his axes for no reason. The lunatic who was the first to fly into a rage when provoked. And that lunatic was smiling. Not mockingly, and not with killing intent. It was a genuine smile. Combined with his distinctly barbarian features, it even made him look rather guileless. "You hurt?"

He was even worrying about someone else. That crazy barbarian actually knew how to worry about people, not just split their heads with an axe. The soldier was one of the Battalion Commander's personal adjutants. He had been told to find out what sort of man this Platoon Commander Encrid was, so he had accompanied him under the pretext of showing him the way. But the scene before him felt utterly unnatural. "It doesn't look broken."

Now that one was getting involved too. So the bastard did have a mouth. Apparently, he had once been friendly with most of the men in the unit. Lately, though, he had become a lunatic who did nothing but glare. He spoke so little that the adjutant had thought he'd somehow lost his tongue. Was his name Jaxon? They called that bastard the clear-eyed lunatic. All he did was stare, but those clear eyes made your skin break out in goose bumps for no reason. It felt fucking awful.

"Have you applied any medicine?" Hearing the clear-eyed lunatic—that bastard—speak was surprising enough. Now he was even stepping forward to examine this Platoon Commander's wrist.

'This has to be a dream.'

Why had they changed so much? Last came the holy lunatic. The four were already notorious throughout the unit, each crazy in his own truly distinctive way. And this one stood out the most. His bulk brought a great boulder to mind, yet he went about with a gentle smile on his face. Above all, unlike the other lunatics, he was kind. Not that he followed orders. Sometimes, when he prayed, he almost seemed to glow with a halo. He looked as though he could devour an entire enemy unit with a few casual blows if he took the field, yet the crazy bastard claimed he couldn't fight because God hadn't called him. In the adjutant's eyes, this one was the truly mad bastard. Clerics whose prayers received answers proved themselves through divine power. But this man used none. What did that make him? His prayers went unanswered. He wasn't a proper cleric, then. 'What do you mean, God's word?'

Every day he invoked God and used that excuse to duck out. If you joined the army, weren't you supposed to obey your superiors? No, why was he even here if he was going to act like this? The holy lunatic spoke with his usual smile.

"Brother, your training was insufficient. Have you been taking it easy? You get hurt because you're lazy. Train. Train." Whatever his faith, the lunatic who was always kind about everything was now dressing someone down with a smile.

'The plain lunatic is grinning away. The clear-eyed lunatic is glaring at a wrist with those clear eyes. The lazy lunatic looks industrious. And the holy lunatic is chewing someone out?' What the hell was this? Trying to explain this situation was going to be really, truly, profoundly fucking awful. Only one man could make sense of it all. The adjutant turned his gaze to Encrid. Encrid said his piece regardless of the man watching beside him.

"It isn't broken."

He glanced around before continuing.

"I just need a little rest. That's not the issue. What on earth have you been doing? Why are you the Lunatic Platoon now instead of the troublemaker platoon?" Eight days at most. How had troublemakers turned into lunatics in that time? Encrid's question was fair, and Rem answered with his usual confidence.

"I'd say it happened because our Platoon Commander wasn't here. All your fault. That's how it is. Entirely your fault." The plain lunatic spouted nonsense, and the lazy lunatic followed it up.

"So, about that spar?" "Underestimate a minor injury and it'll cause trouble at a critical moment. Let's take the bandages off first. Lunatics? Who says that? First I've heard of it."

"I know nothing about it, Brother Platoon Commander."

The clear-eyed madman and the holy madman followed with equally distinctive answers. The adjutant expected Encrid to give them a severe scolding. The Lunatic Platoon? Surely that was a problem, even if their Captain had been absent. Above all, there was Andrew beside him, who had finally stopped crying. One of his own men with an eye swollen and bruised black. That eye was evidence of trouble within the platoon. "And what happened to his eye?"

Sure enough, Encrid demanded an explanation.

"I sparred with him. To help him improve."

At the plain lunatic's answer, Encrid agreed.

"Hmm. Good work, then." That was good work? When his comrade's eye was blue? Bright blue? When it was so swollen you could barely see his eyeball?

"I'm still not leaving. I'm staying under the Captain." Andrew's demeanor had also changed subtly at the sight of Platoon Commander Encrid. Usually he was too busy watching the others warily to even talk back. Now he seemed to be openly defying Rem.

"Yeah, that's why I like you. Want to get knocked around a bit? Wait there. I'll go have some fun with our Platoon Commander first." One look at Rem's face was enough to tell. He couldn't stop smiling. He looked happy. At least, that was how it looked to the adjutant. After that, the adjutant waited for Encrid to start berating the unit over all this lunatic business. ["Go and find out. Why they called him. Why they need that lucky fellow."]

Naturally, the adjutant had volunteered to guide a mere Platoon Commander on the Battalion Commander's orders. He had to report whatever this man did, so he waited for Encrid to take some sort of action. But that was it. The clear-eyed lunatic unwrapped the bandages. A black panther appeared from somewhere, blinking blue eyes and yawning. MEOW. Encrid stared straight at him. Then the other men turned their eyes toward the adjutant too.

"Aren't you leaving?"

Encrid's question didn't sound like an invitation to stay and chat. "Ah, yes. I'll go. Get some rest."

The adjutant turned away. After he left, Rem tilted his head and asked,

"Why'd that one follow you here? He's spent days doing nothing but snooping around." "Snooping?"

"Kept staring at us. Figured he wanted to die, so I was planning to decorate his skull with an axe tomorrow."

"You crazy bastard. That's not assaulting a superior. That's murder."

"Is it?" He couldn't be asking because he didn't know. Especially when he grinned like that, he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Leave him alone. Don't pick fights with the higher-ups. That man in particular serves the Battalion Commander directly."

"If things go sour, I'll just leave the army." Of course, that wouldn't be an ordinary discharge. Rem's departure would be more like a two-axe escape from military service. While Encrid and Rem traded remarks, Jaxon took out his ointment, knelt on one knee, and slathered it over Encrid's wrist. A tingling cold spread through it. It was a peculiar sensation, cold and soothing and ticklish. This didn't seem to be ordinary medicine. Was it because they hadn't seen each other in a while? Why was he so eager to treat the injury? Either way, Encrid said what needed saying.

"Let's try to go along with the higher-ups a little." He had heard on the way why they had summoned him so urgently. Things on the battlefield were on the verge of going to shit, morale was falling, and trouble was brewing within the unit. The nickname Lunatic Platoon was proof of that unrest. Their skills were too valuable to waste by chopping their heads off to reinforce military discipline. Yet if command tried to put up with them and make use of them, every last one seemed likely to cause no end of trouble.

'The Company Commander must have protected them too.' Encrid didn't know what the Fairy Company Commander was thinking, but the commander tended to look after him and his men, openly or otherwise. Bringing his platoon members here had probably been for a similar reason. Refusing to deploy because their Captain wasn't there, right after being reorganized into an Independent Platoon directly under the Company Commander? Even Encrid understood how serious a problem that would appear. So the commander had brought them along. His worries about how the commander had managed it aside, he understood that much. Of course, Krais had also explained it throughout the journey. There was just one problem they had overlooked.

'They don't exactly listen to me either.'

Even when breaking up fights, words weren't enough; he had to physically wedge himself between them. These weren't men who would go out and fight just because he told them to. The same was true now. Not one of them paid the slightest heed to Encrid's words. They let it all wash over them. They had no intention of accommodating their superiors.

'What can I do?'

This was the troublemaker squad. The Lunatic Platoon. Having rewound the bandage, Jaxon spoke with his eyes lowered.

"You shouldn't strain yourself, but you'll be the one suffering for it later."

He wouldn't listen even if Jaxon tried to stop him. Jaxon stepped back.

"Right. I'll be the one suffering." Only after the conversation had reached that point did Krais, who had been standing behind them, speak up.

"Am I invisible?"

"Huh? You're here?"

"I did see you."

"Welcome, brother." The three other than Jaxon answered in turn. Jaxon merely acknowledged him with a glance. After all, he and Krais had dealt with each other on various matters—mainly exchanging information, getting introductions to prostitutes, and selling medicine. Krais knew better than to expect anything from them, so he was satisfied with that much. Then it was time to spar. As they all poured out in front of the tent, Henri finally greeted him.

"It's frightening just trying to get a word in. In a way, I almost admire Lord Andrew for stepping right up like that." Henri's face was unmarked. In one sense, he knew how to conduct himself.

'Look at it another way, and this is as far as he goes.'

He had no friction with any of the men, but neither had he managed to grow close to any of them. Encrid didn't judge people lightly. Still, he knew his men's eye for people. The fact that none of them kept Henri close meant they didn't expect him to pull his weight in the unit. That didn't mean Encrid would spout nonsense about how Henri should go home now, or would be better off leaving the army. Who was he to say that? Everyone had told him to stop, to give it up, yet he was still holding a sword. Yes, he hadn't given up. He had never backed down. He had moved forward even when he had to crawl. That was who Encrid was now. This was the result of crawling forward, even half a step at a time. Even with his wrist damaged in the fight against the Frog, he could show them. Something that had changed. Something he had built up all this time. He felt he could do it now too, without putting too much strain on his wrist. It didn't seem as though it would be difficult. "I said I'm first."

Rem stepped forward and swung his axe with a smile, without even announcing the start. Encrid swung his sword to meet it. Rem's arm bent like a whip, and the axe blade seemed to do the same, stretching and curving. Encrid's sword curved to meet it. Moving so fast they left afterimages, the axe blade and sword met. CLANG! One clash. One exchange. That alone sent the corners of Rem's mouth curling upward.

"Well, look at that."

Rem murmured, his smile deepening. The sound of steel striking steel rang through the night, setting off a commotion nearby.

"What is it?"

"The Lunatic Platoon again?"

"What is it this time?" Once they learned that the commotion came from the Lunatic Platoon, the soldiers naturally gathered to watch. It wasn't the usual fight among themselves. There was a new face, which made for a good spectacle. Of course, some knew that face. Vengeance, for instance, or Bell, who had fought beside him in a previous battle. There was also the Squad Leader who had done some sewing for Encrid, some of the Border Guard, and even men who had faced him in advancement matches. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG. Steel met steel, sparks flew, and the noise burst out. Everyone watched Rem and Encrid spar for a moment, and every last one fell speechless.

"Uh, well, what... is this?"

One person's muttering spoke for all the spectators. Encrid. That Encrid. Even if he had recently been promoted to high-grade soldier, this was a man whose skills had been markedly inferior to their own. A man they had mocked, whom they had called the idiot Squad Leader. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! His sword swung, struck, and thrust almost too fast to see, meeting Rem's axes. He was holding his own against Rem, whose recent exploits had made him even more notorious as a lunatic, and whose cutting down ten enemies had even earned him the admiration of some of their own men. At least, that was how it looked to them. And that wasn't the end of it.

"Let's finish our conversation later. Plenty of others waiting."

Rem stopped in the middle of their spar. Then came Ragna. Then Audin. They took turns fighting Encrid, and he held his ground against them all.