Chapter 189 - You Little Brat, Time for a Beating

"A fine sword."

Encrid collected his sword from the blacksmith. "Take this too."

He also received an iron breastplate, fastened with rivets only at the sides. Having nothing on his shoulders made it comfortable, but he would need to find separate pauldrons. He noticed the scrap iron piled in a corner of the smithy. Border Guard had two other smithies, but this one did the best work. There was no smith exclusively serving the lord here, so all three had to supply the barracks with weapons. With the battle over and the time to replenish supplies upon them, they would be turning scrap iron into spears, swords, and blunt weapons. In short, the blacksmith before him had stretched himself thin to fix his sword despite having no time to spare. "Here."

TING!

He flipped a gold coin over, then added a few more. "That's a lot."

"Buy your wife some flowers with the extra."

The blacksmith stared at Encrid with hollow eyes. Why stare? He could just take it and spend it. Krona had been plentiful lately, and Encrid was hardly one to hoard it. Krais called that the Captain's greatest failing, but in truth, Krais was the only one in the platoon—no, the company—who cared so much about money. Even Pin wasn't particularly careful with it. Esther was a panther, so she went without saying. 'But should I really count Esther as a member of the unit?'

Well, after everything she'd accomplished, what else could he do? Even if a panther couldn't go on the official roster, she counted as a comrade. Anyway, Rem, Ragna, Audin, Jaxon. Didn't they all spend Krona like water? He was fairly sure they did. Of course, Encrid outdid them all. Whether he received a bounty or emptied a treasure vault, once his purse filled with Krona, he spent it without hesitation. Nothing changed after he left the smithy.

TING!

"Take it."

A gold coin sailed through the air, and a rough hand snatched it up. It belonged to John the tanner. John was skilled. In fact, some traveling merchants visited the city specifically to see him. His skill with leather merited the title of master craftsman. He was well beyond the level of an ordinary artisan. This time, Encrid had received leather forearm guards from him. Called bracers, they protected his arms from wrist to elbow. Even wrapped around his arms, they were supple yet sturdy. Jet-black, they fastened underneath with straps of the same leather pulled around them. Careful attention showed in every detail. A master's workmanship was evident throughout, so a single gold coin was hardly too much. "Demonic beast hide, oiled three times."

One gold coin wouldn't be enough, then.

TING!

Another coin.

"That'll do." Master craftsman John always charged a fair price. He was a leatherworker with a conscience. No wonder the merchants kept wearing down his doorstep. Usually, the slightest hint of being called a master sent a craftsman's prices soaring, but not John's. Demonic beast hide was difficult to work with, in any case. Even tanning it required special chemicals, and the process often failed despite those. It might be easy to obtain in the capital, but out on the frontier? Hard to say. 'Does anyone else here have anything like this?'

Probably not. He liked the sword, too. The evil spirit that had taught him swordsmanship was gone. The blade that had housed it, once rightfully called a demon sword, was now merely metal. It had a faint blue sheen, deerskin wrapped around the replacement grip the smith had taken particular care with, and a round, solid pommel he liked very much. "Take these. Had some time on my hands."

Was it because he hadn't been to the market in so long? The cobbler he'd met when first opening his Sixth Sense approached and handed him a pair of boots. Their soles were thicker than before, and the uppers were reinforced with a hard shell. One look made it clear that considerable care had gone into them. "Just threw them together. Couldn't really sell them."

What was this ridiculous nonsense?

"Father, just say you want to give them to him."

His daughter smiled beside him, bright and cheerful. Encrid's hand flipped another coin.

TING!

Gold. The daughter caught it. "This is too much."

"Spend whatever's left however you like." Encrid scattered coins around and received piles of seasoned jerky along the way. He also received a couple of bottles of wine. They tasted quite good. But why was someone giving him charcoal? "It's good charcoal."

What was he supposed to do with it? Grill something? These people really were entertaining. Was this the Gilfin Guild's influence? Much of the city's darkness, its stains, seemed to have been scrubbed away. Of course, some stains refused to come out. For instance... "Out of my way, commoner."

Noble bastards like that one. He had run into a nobleman with a bodyguard on the street. Seeing Encrid, the man deliberately curled his lips into a sneer.

"You, a company commander? Absurd. I don't know what tricks you played on Marcus, but it was a mistake." Hmm. If that had been Rem, he probably would have split the man's skull with an axe the instant he finished speaking. No, his fist might have flown at "Out of my way." Encrid could only pray the man never said anything like that to Rem. He looked like he belonged among Ghouls. Narrow eyes, thin lips. The face of a man who had lived a thoroughly nasty life. Appearances didn't prove everything, but this bastard seemed to live up to his looks. There were plenty of rumors to that effect, too. 'That face would certainly horrify Luagarne.'

Frogs cared about looks. Human looks, at that. What an odd race. And one of those Frogs had said she would fall for him, hadn't she? "Hmph."

The noble passed with his lone bodyguard behind him. Perhaps he had business in the market; he headed toward the city gate. He'd never hidden his dislike of Encrid. Nothing new there, so Encrid remained unruffled. Instead, the fruit seller beside him muttered,

"Obnoxious bastard. Hope he dies of shit poisoning."

Now that was a creative curse. What was that bastard's name again? He'd heard it before, but there was no particular need to know. He just had to keep him from running into Rem. "Wonder what our superior-beater is up to."

Encrid murmured to himself in a singsong voice as he returned to the unit. Rem greeted him with a remark out of nowhere. "Any chance you could find us another Andrew somewhere?"

"Hmm?"

"Haven't had anything satisfying to hit lately." Dangerous. That was a sign of Rem's pent-up frustration.

"Spar?"

Time to put out the fire, fast. The ensuing bout was rough enough that Encrid used the Heart of the Superhuman with abandon. "Nice bracers you've got there."

Rem noticed his new equipment. Sharp eyes, too.

"That sword doesn't look ordinary, either."

"Picked it up on the way." They finished their bout amid that sort of conversation, and by evening Encrid ached all over. Had he pushed himself this hard in any recent spar? Still, it had relieved a fair amount of Rem's frustration. "Think I'll sleep well tonight."

He'd been acting uncharacteristically troubled over whether to become a knight, but now he was back to normal.

"Good. Sleep well." That evening, Audin finished his prayers as usual and called to Encrid.

"Brother Company Commander."

"What is it?"

"Would you care to go on a night patrol today?" The bear smiled as he spoke. For all his size, it was a gentle smile. Looking at him like this, Encrid thought Audin could do quite well if he set his mind to seducing women. He could see why Krais wanted him in his salon. ["How about becoming a priest who prowls the night?"]

Krais had even begun testing the waters with suggestions like that. Audin only smiled, however. Perhaps he didn't consider it worth a response, because he never answered. In any case, Audin seemed to have something to say. Either that, or he literally just wanted a nighttime stroll.

"Sure." Being exempted from every duty on account of being an Independent Company or whatever had already left Encrid feeling self-conscious around the barracks. So this patrol was a chance occurrence, closer to a walk. Audin had something to say, and a night patrol made a good excuse. Encrid, too, had been meaning to do something resembling duty for once. "The scriptures say that a day spent building steadily matters more than a day spent overexerting yourself. What this means is..."

A sermon. His usual sermon. Sometimes Audin talked far, far too much. Especially when it came to sermons and the scriptures. Was Pin really all right with this? "How are things with Pin?"

She'd said she was going after him.

"I'm working to convert our Sister." He was trying to instill religious beliefs in a woman who wanted to bed him? It suited Audin, but that had to wound a woman's pride. Though Pin did look cheerful every day, considering. "My point is this: it is better to exercise in moderation than to overexert yourself, Brother Company Commander."

He never failed to remember the new title. Encrid nodded. He understood. Lately, he had been driving his body as though something were chasing him. How to put it? 'It feels within reach, but I can't quite grasp it.'

Swinging his sword, using the Heart of the Superhuman. Perhaps the desire to take all of it one step further had bred something like impatience. Being untouched by frustration and despair didn't mean he could keep himself from growing impatient. Not that he'd deliberately set out to work himself into the ground, but one's frame of mind changed one's actions and attitude. In turn, those changed the way one saw the world. It was a good lesson. "Was I doing that?"

"You were."

A few words were enough. If Encrid thought them reasonable, he immediately acknowledged and accepted them. That was his greatest strength. Except...

'Your conscience must be fucking dead, for you of all people to say that.'

Who was it who used the Isolation Technique as an excuse to insist that he had to break his limits every day? "What you do under my supervision is not overexertion. It is precisely the appropriate amount."

Encrid had spoken with his eyes. Audin answered aloud. "Lately, I feel like everyone reads my eyes far too easily."

"You make it so easy to see."

Encrid chuckled. Audin smiled too. As they walked along the wall's gallery on their informal patrol, several familiar soldiers saluted.

"Just an unscheduled patrol. Don't mind us." The city was peaceful. Safe. Whatever happened outside, these walls would protect its people.

'He told me to love the city, didn't he?' With the moonlight at his back, he gazed out over the city shrouded in darkness. From the gallery, it lay spread beneath his feet. Summer insects chirred in his ears. 'I don't know about love.'

But at the very least, he wouldn't stand by and watch these people die before his eyes. Protect the weak. The first words spoken whenever chivalry was discussed. Some called it an excuse to wield a knight's power, but... 'Having power and failing to use it properly makes you nothing but a brute.'

Encrid's dream was not to become a brute. The moonlight warmed him. He didn't believe he could become a knight overnight. He still had a long road to walk. There was Will. He believed there was still more to learn. Before that, he also needed time to fully absorb what he already had. Learning a new sword style didn't mean he was neglecting his previous skills, but... 'There's still room to train.'

That was Encrid's own assessment, after all. He was lost in thought, intoxicated by the moonlight, when his ears pricked up.

"There's something there."

Audin reacted too. Then a wave of rank musk hit them, and something scrambled up over the wall. ROOOAAAR!

The roar of a wild beast—no, a demonic beast. It carried a power that shook a person's very resolve. "Uh, uh..."

The soldier standing directly before it froze at the roar. Before Encrid could move, a bear streaked through the moonlight the instant the cry sounded. A remarkably swift bear of many talents. Audin. ROAR!

The creature was a Manticore. A high-tier demonic beast with a scorpion's tail and a lion's head and body—no, a creature classified as both monster and demonic beast. Its roar alone could bind an opponent in place. A mere graze from its scorpion tail would poison you and send you off to live in the next world. Most companies were advised against fighting one, even at full strength. Not all demonic beasts were equal. A Manticore was a monster beyond comparison to anything like a hyena demonic beast. Such a monster, such a truly terrifying monster, was nothing short of a nightmare to an ordinary soldier. "Kitty, if you make that much noise at night, you'll wake people up."

Watching Audin gently soothe the monster somehow made the Manticore seem to plummet straight down to the level of a stray cat. The Manticore lowered its body the moment it saw Audin. He stood at ease, raising only his hands before him, palms half-visible and thumbs pointing toward himself. Meanwhile, Encrid grabbed the frozen soldier by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back.

"Take a deep breath and move as you breathe out. Start by slowly tensing your fingertips."

"Uh, yes, sir!" A creature on the level of a Manticore could exert pressure through its roar alone. Encrid quietly explained how to break free of it. One of the soldiers keeping watch on the gallery seized his whistle, ready to blow at any moment.

"Wait."

Not wanting him to draw the Manticore's attention with needless noise, Encrid stopped him again with a look. Even rigid with fear, the soldier obeyed faithfully. "Back."

While Encrid moved the soldiers on the gallery back, the Manticore moved. It raced through the moonlight and swiped with a forepaw. Fast. A high-tier demonic beast indeed. A light push off the ground left a blurred afterimage. Encrid's eyes tracked it all. Audin, its target, narrowly evaded the paw and thrust out his left fist. 'Ah.'

Encrid marveled inwardly. A perfect dodge followed by a counter. It followed the same principle as part of the swordsmanship he had just learned. ["Withdraw your foot to draw the opponent into close range, then turn your body to make room and strike. It's possible if you've anticipated their attack."]

Luagarne's lesson came to mind, overlaid with Audin's punch and movement. Turning his body, Audin planted his fist squarely in the Manticore's mug.

WHAM!

A resounding boom like a leather drum rang out. The creature tumbled to the ground and skidded sideways. GRRROWL!

The struck demonic beast let out a cry of pain. "You little brat, time for a beating."

From then on, Audin became a teacher scolding a child. His pupil just happened to be a high-tier demonic beast that could chew through a company. Everything else looked like an ordinary day of admonishments and sermons.