Chapter 155 - Luagarne the Frog

Luagarne the Frog watched the man swinging his sword. The blade dropped sharply, from top to bottom. WHOOSH The blade whistled through the air. The scent of steel tickled the Frog's nose. Luagarne's talent-reading eyes studied the man's sword and took its measure. Utterly earnest. Utterly deliberate. How could he swing like that every day, every time, every hour, and still strive to give his best every day, every time, every hour, every moment? The man swung his sword after breakfast and put his body through its paces whenever he set it down. He repeatedly squatted and stood while holding heavy rocks and the like. After eating lunch, he swung his sword again. He even carried it when he went to relieve himself. Sometimes he mixed in exercises such as dodging stones, and he sparred often. His opponents were supposedly his subordinates, yet every one of them was far more skilled than he was. 'At their limits? No, have they already surpassed them?' How did the eyes that read talent work? Observation and insight, posture and attitude, the rate at which someone's skills improved. These were the foundations of what they saw and sensed. Put bluntly, it was a hunch: the realm of sixth sense, intuition, and instinct. How did one make judgments in that realm? By having already seen others live that way. In other words, it required experience. In that respect, Luagarne was exceptional even among Frogs with talent-reading eyes. In other words, Luagarne had plenty of experience, having seen countless people swing their swords and surpass their limits. After witnessing it over and over, one developed a feel for it at the first meeting. And Luagarne's instincts repeated the same verdict endlessly.

'That man cannot become a knight.' To put the requirements for becoming a knight into words, the first was to reach the limits of human ability. Even that required talent found in one person among dozens or hundreds, but that was where it began. Next, one had to cross the line of those limits. That alone required talent found in perhaps one person among thousands. After encountering one's limits and surpassing them... 'Grasp Will.'

Most stumbled here. Talent alone could not open this path. The truly funny thing was that people with exceptional talent usually set their limits too low. They made one question whether their "best" really was their best. In short:

'Very few actually work hard.' That was why Luagarne looked for two things when reading talent. First, whether someone had a gift for using their body, whether swinging a sword or fighting with their fists. Second, whether they had the determination to advance. What did determination to advance mean? The strength to push through a tedious, arduous journey without growing arrogant and relying on one's talent. That second gift could not be assessed by instinct. It required spending time beside the person and watching them. But if they lacked the first, there was no need to look for the second. 'For some reason...'

Luagarne kept noticing this man who swung his sword morning and night, over and over, and kept training even as he was beaten black and blue in sparring. His looks played a part, of course. Frogs had unusual aesthetic sensibilities; didn't they judge human beauty and ugliness? In that respect, Encrid and all the platoon members around him passed muster. 'Oh, yes.'

With room to spare. Encrid had black hair and blue eyes, and he was upright and true. In Luagarne's own words, he was a man with a magnificent back. What about the fellow called Rem? To consider talent first, Rem and the others all passed muster in every respect except Will. Luck played a part in Will, after all. Nothing could be done about that. A Frog's eyes saw possibilities; they were not the eyes of a seer. In any case, even setting talent aside, they were a pleasure to look at. Rem's gray hair and unpredictable, headstrong nature brought to mind a blade without a handle. That was how Luagarne would introduce him to another Frog: dangerously alluring. The human called Jaxon was similar, but slightly different. Reddish-brown hair and those dull eyes.

'He's, hmm... a poisonous flower one mustn't touch.' He called to mind a flower lovely to look at, but poisonous the moment one touched it. The kind known as a poison flower. And Audin? Quite apart from his skill...

["I should call you Sister."] Despite his size and appearance, he had an eye for fine details. A sensitive bear. That described him perfectly. All the platoon members seemed to have more or less guessed that Luagarne was a female Frog, but this hulking man had recognized it at first sight. They were all extraordinarily perceptive. 'The blond one with the red eyes is nice, too.'

Ragna, a northerner, was like languid afternoon sunlight. Sometimes he blazed, but that was his usual nature. As for sheer abundance of talent, Luagarne considered him the finest of the lot. But talent and skill were not proportional. She knew that from experience. How had all these fellows ended up here? 'A few of them seem to have tasted the very edges of Will.'

Tasting its edges was not the same as grasping it. The path of a knight was that rugged, high, and steep. Countless people stagnated at precisely that stage. Luagarne's gaze remained on Encrid, her eyes tracking his every movement. Even as she reflected on all this, the man before her remained the greatest wonder. "Hup."

Encrid held his breath and moved. Sweat scattered through the air with the motion. It was the Heavy Sword Technique's mid-level horizontal cut, also called the spinning cut: a full-force strike pivoting on his left foot while maintaining his body's center line. 'Where did he learn that?'

He had been taught properly. His fundamentals were solid. And on top of that...

'He doesn't know how to give up.' It had only been a few days, but he hadn't changed. He was constant. Those creatures called geniuses could show absurd growth in just a few days. Seen in that light, it was a wonder how Encrid had built up this much skill. It was difficult even to make an effort when one couldn't see oneself improving. To claim she wasn't impressed would be a lie. For Frogs, indulging their desires was nothing less than the purpose of life. She was faithful to hers. Each Frog indulged a different desire. Some staked everything on spiritual love. Others devoted their hearts to achieving something through training. Luagarne had a weakness for the unknown. Despite her long life as a Frog, she now faced something unknown that she had never encountered before. "Don't you get bored just watching?"

The unknown spoke. Luagarne laughed with a gurgle, her cheeks swelling. "You want to see my weapon?" "I'd say it's more that I want to face it than see it." A man who didn't know how to give up, challenging his limits. There were plenty of humans like that. Luagarne had seen so very many. But...

'What a truly curious fellow.' She had never seen one crawl forward without the slightest wavering. He truly showed none at all. There was no frustration or despair. He forgot such things completely. He accepted and acknowledged what he had, then did what he could. Anyone could say it, but how many could actually do it?

'He might be the only one.' Whatever his talent, his determination to advance shone so brightly she could hardly keep her eyes open. 'If the coin tossed by the goddess of luck landed on its edge instead of heads or tails...' The coin tossed by the goddess of luck had a front and a back, yet against impossible odds, it could land upright instead of on either face. Luck, as always, defied reason. 'If, just if that happened...'

If the man before her grasped Will... It was thrilling. Some fulfillment offered by the unknown set Luagarne's heart burning. Luagarne stood.

"Shall we play?" Naturally, she was interested. Others might think she had stayed because of Ragna, but...

'I've seen countless people like him.' Ragna was not an unknown to her. Only the man before her was. An unknown compelling enough to engrave the name Encrid in her mind. 'It's been so very long.'

For the first time in a very long time, Luagarne the Frog even wanted to experience spiritual love.

* * *

'Becoming a knight.'

Now he could grasp it in his mind. A signpost had been erected. Face his limits squarely. He had done that countless times already. ["People don't know their own limits. What should they do, then?"]

Ragna had shown him the path. The answer lay in the question.

["Keep walking."] He only had to advance, even if he had to crawl. In other words, the same thing: keep doing what he had been doing. Face his limits, break them, and advance. Once he surpassed them, he could awaken the unknown power called Will. The facts had settled into a simple, clear shape. Encrid knew his own talent well. He had always accepted, acknowledged, and come to terms with it. He simply hadn't despaired afterward. "A whip, of all things."

Encrid muttered as he lay sprawled on his back, looking at the sky. He had assumed that most Frogs used blades. That was exactly what it was: a preconception. The Frog before him used a whip. Its grip was a loop that curved into a ring, and the whip was about half again as long as a spear. It had curved like a snake, wrapped around his ankle, and pulled. He had cut, parried, and dodged. After ten exchanges, his ploy had failed, and he had fallen backward. 'Why didn't it work?'

Something to think about. If he found an answer after pondering it, it would give him the strength to advance again. "You're a very interesting human," the Frog said. "Your name?"

Only then did Encrid ask. "Luagarne. You may call me Lua." "You can call me Enkie." It wasn't an exchange of introductions. They were merely confirming each other's names to make their time together a little more comfortable, however long it might last. Encrid rose after answering. He still had too much to do to take a rest just because he was down. Training had begun at dawn, and it was now past lunch. There was still plenty of time to keep moving. "One more?"

Encrid asked as he stood, and Luagarne burst into gurgling laughter.

"Gladly." He took up his sword again. Sparred and faced off against her. Sought new paths. Pondered what Will was and considered ways to reach his limits. That was what he had to do. Encrid continued swinging his sword and devoting himself to training afterward. Now and then he watched Pin spar with Audin. It was a contest between Ail Karaz-style martial arts and Balaf-style martial arts. It was less exciting than expected, but there were things to learn from it, too. Jaxon still went away often. Krais fretted over some map he had obtained from who knew where. A month after the battle, the weather began to grow hot. Even standing still brought a light sweat. "Our great victory in this battle has expanded the kingdom's territory. In celebration of that triumph!" There was even something of a festival. It was different from the previous party. Food and drink were distributed throughout the city. Encrid swung his sword even then. "You really are a boring human." Frogs loved festivals. Wasn't enjoying oneself and having fun the very purpose of life? Yet Luagarne watched Encrid swing his sword even then. Surely watching someone swing a sword every day couldn't actually be more entertaining than a festival. 'Why is this such a pleasure to watch?'

She couldn't understand it. It was unknown. And that made it enjoyable. Time passed. Aspen declared its surrender. Three months went by.

* * *

Now sweat streamed down even when they stood still.

"Feels like summer's a bit longer this year."

Rem muttered. Encrid paid him little mind as he swung his sword. Three months, and Luagarne the Frog was still there. Pin hadn't gone back, either. She had originally been a scout. It seemed about time for her to leave with a new platoon, but...

"They haven't said anything yet." Had the battalion commander forgotten her? Or was he leaving her here because he thought she belonged? It was none of Encrid's concern. He simply swung and swung again. That was how he spent those three months. "Rem. Rem."

Over those three months, the Frog had come to speak fairly freely with the platoon members. "What?" "How did you ever teach that one?"

The Frog wagged her long tongue in astonishment. "Heh heh. You'd be even more horrified if you'd seen him before."

Rem answered with a laugh. Indeed, even the Frog was amazed. Amazed at how Encrid's skills failed to improve. Despite all his daily sword practice and training, he was stagnating. That was how it looked to her. Which only made her admire him more. Effort was a talent, too. One needed to see growth from swinging a sword and training one's body to keep making an effort. 'What on earth is he thinking?'

The Frog could only wonder what went on inside Encrid's head. He had been stuck on a plateau for three whole months, after all. That was how it looked to her.

Encrid thought otherwise.