Chapter 235 - A Fairy Joke Rang Through the Baths

'Has he gone mad?'

That was all the rapier swordsman could think. Had that head of his finally broken for good? To have honed his techniques so much in so little time, he must have found good fortune amid one grueling day after another. Had that accumulated training and good fortune ruined his head? Rem thought much the same.

'Have you lost it, Captain?'

His hand trembled reflexively. There was a vast difference between resisting intimidation and submitting to it. Ragna gripped his sword. He judged this beyond Encrid's abilities. He intended to rush forward and swing, using Scission. More precisely, he meant to cut through the presence his opponent wielded as intimidation. Audin readied his divine power. As long as Encrid did not die, he should be able to heal him. Behind the swordsman, Jaxon silently drew Stiletto. Stab him and kill him. Whatever tricks the man used, he could be killed. Jaxon was confident of that, whether his opponent was a knight, a proto knight, or anything else. It was just before they all acted. Just before the formless blades reached Encrid's body. In that fleeting instant, he directed his intent toward the formless something that had settled within him.

'I refuse.' The determination within the blades was to cut. Then what was the determination behind them, within the intimidation?

'Back down.'

Encrid refused it. He refused both the formless pressure weighing on his shoulders and the blades cutting into him. Will meant expressing one's willpower outwardly. Giving off a formless power. If intimidation was such a power, then so was refusal. The pressure of intimidation had inflicted pain that felt real. Now he could sense that it was merely a presence he had been unable to see, and so he could ignore it. This was easier than enduring a cut from Pell the Shepherd's sword. Clearly, then, what he was doing was not beyond him. Encrid demonstrated that through his actions as well. The incoming formless blades scattered like dust. They had only ever been visible in his mind. He took a steady step forward and spoke as though nothing were wrong.

"What are you doing? Ragna? Jaxon?" Ragna had already come to his side and stood with his sword held upright. Jaxon stood behind the rapier swordsman. Both blinked in surprise. Jaxon reacted first, withdrawing without so much as a breath or a footfall. The rapier swordsman likely never knew someone had stood behind him. Ragna froze with his sword raised. Then, apparently having thought of a plausible excuse, he spoke.

"It's a good day to hold a sword." Had Encrid's remark about it being a good day left that much of an impression? No sooner had Ragna finished speaking than thunder rumbled and crashed, and rain began to fall. PITTER-PATTER. "... Huh?"

The rapier swordsman could not take his eyes off Encrid, seemingly unaware even of the falling rain. No, he stood openmouthed, unable to speak properly. It was as though he had lost the power of speech. "Huh?"

That single bewildered sound was all that escaped his astonished mouth. Encrid tilted his head.

"Something you want to say?" "Huh?"

The swordsman only repeated the same sound. Encrid had seen people struck speechless with surprise before, but never anything like this. The man still stood with his mouth open, unable to continue. Encrid spoke carefully.

"We should find a healer."

Damage to the mind was not easily healed. Even if a healer came, they might simply shake their head.

"I think his head's broken," he added. "Pfft."

Rem burst out laughing. That had not been a joke. Encrid had been quite serious. "Huh?"

The rapier swordsman kept repeating himself. He really did seem profoundly shocked. "That sword will rust in the rain. Are you sure this is a good day to stand around holding it?"

Encrid looked beside him as he asked. Having committed himself to his excuse, Ragna still held the sword raised, but he soon agreed.

"Yes. This should be enough for today." "Right. Give it some oil, too."

It would rust if left alone.

"I will." Ragna put his sword away and stepped back, revealing three people every bit as shocked as the rapier swordsman. All stared at Encrid with their mouths open. "How?"

The half-Giant, the most composed of the three, asked.

"Quite well."

Encrid kindly supplied an answer. In truth, there was nothing more he could say. Will was not something one could explain. "Will?"

Swallow Blade murmured it. It was not a question, but Encrid readily answered anyway.

"Yes." The bodyguard stood frowning. Unable to accept or understand what had happened, he could not speak. The rain had become a downpour, hissing as it soaked his hair. Naturally, everyone else was getting drenched too. "Shouldn't we get out of the rain first?" Encrid said.

"Huh?"

The rapier swordsman answered. Of course, the man still seemed out of his mind. "Someone look after him."

Encrid turned away, and Rem and the others followed. However accustomed they had grown to their captain's changes, this had crossed into another realm. It was not simply a matter of wielding a sword skillfully or controlling his body well. "Was that Will?"

Ragna, whose own Will was Scission, asked in a voice higher and quicker than usual. In other words, he was surprised. The pouring rain had plastered his blond hair down over his eyes. "You need a haircut. And yes."

Encrid answered casually. He was happy, and he had no objection to enjoying it, but this was not the end. He had not come all this way thinking this was his final goal. A true knight's Will was not refusal, but the natural expression of willpower. Overwhelming an opponent with presence, refusing, cutting, all done naturally. Understanding a part had shown him that. Aesia's intimidation and the rapier swordsman's intimidation had both developed as specializations in that direction. Viewed in the same light, Ragna's Scission was similar. Even complete mastery of Lion Cut and Steel Cut would not allow him to imitate that Scission. Ultimately, it required understanding Will. "What is this? Where did you learn it? Do you train yourself half to death in your dreams or something?"

Rem was just as surprised. Encrid answered him.

"My dreams mostly feature a perverted ferryman, not training." "Huh? A perverted ferryman? What's that supposed to mean?"

That was a question he could not answer, so he ignored it. Rem would treat it as something like a joke anyway. Then Audin murmured,

"It's as though time moves differently for you alone, brother."

The religion-obsessed bear had as keen an eye as the rapier swordsman. He was right. "Do you stop time somewhere and train, brother?"

He looked slow, but he was sharp. Thinking that to himself, Encrid answered,

"Something like that." Instead of replying, Audin quietly began reciting the scriptures. Naturally, he assumed Encrid's answer was a joke. Who would suspect otherwise? Jaxon was his usual silent self. His gaze, however, prickled as he repeatedly scanned Encrid from head to toe.

"I trained properly. I haven't taken any drugs." At Encrid's words, Jaxon's shoulders gave a small start. It was a rare sight.

"How did you know I suspected drugs?" he asked. "Your eyes are full of suspicion."

Given Jaxon's considerable skill with drugs, Encrid had wondered if that was what he suspected. He had been right.

"Hmm. Did you learn to read minds as well?" It was not quite mind reading. The sense for the blade Jaxon had taught him had grown sharper. He could read another person's intentions and emotions with relative ease, especially the things they kept hidden. Take Swallow Blade, who had ultimately refrained from attacking earlier. Outwardly, he had smiled as he spoke.

["I'll pass. I can tell I'd just get beaten up if I tried."]

But what had lurked behind those eyes? Killing intent and malice. There had been the opposite, too. The half-Giant had openly blazed with fighting spirit and the desire to win. Yet what had filled her eyes after she was thrown? Something like regret and sorrow. They were not directed at Encrid, of course. They had felt self-deprecating. 'Well, I could be wrong.'

That was simply the rough impression he had gotten. Encrid was about to enter the quarters when he stopped and stripped off his clothes. As he set his equipment neatly to one side beneath the eaves, Krais came out.

"Dry off the equipment and put it away."

At Encrid's instruction, the others piled their own equipment on top. "Isn't this a bit much?"

Rem tossed a pouch onto the pile.

"For your trouble."

"Come back anytime to Krais's Equipment Care!" His attitude changed in an instant. Rem spent his Krona freely, so there was probably a fair amount in the pouch. "We'll make a mess of the quarters going in this wet. Let's head straight to the baths."

That was Encrid's suggestion. Border Guard's barracks had plenty of good facilities. There was the well, but there were also military baths they had gained unrestricted access to after becoming an Independent Company. There were large wooden tubs filled with water, and more water was kept constantly on the boil. In short, they could wash in hot water. The place had been built by digging a well and putting a roof over it, so there was no shortage of water. With water constantly boiling to one side, it was also full of steam. "Let's go."

They all went to the baths and stripped without ceremony. The women heating the water laughed and called out,

"Oh, after looking at that husband of mine all the time, this is heaven!" Everyone roared with laughter at the hearty attendant's remark.

"You be good to your husband. Can't be easy for him, living with a woman bigger than he is."

Rem grinned as he teased her, and she promptly splashed him with cold water. "Ah, that's cold."

Unfazed by mere cold water, Rem spoke with an unbroken grin. The woman smiled back.

"You've got a sharp tongue, you gray-haired rascal." They seemed to know each other. Later, once they were in the bath, Encrid asked how.

"Dunbachel keeps passing out and rolling around in the dirt, so I got to know her from dumping Dunbachel here all the time. She's a good, hearty woman." Anyone who could banter with Rem like that was impressive. No, come to think of it...

'That bastard Rem.'

He was kind to women. He picked fights with anyone, but rarely beat a woman.

'What about Dunbachel, then?' "Dunbachel? She's a warrior, not a woman."

Encrid asked just to see, and that was Rem's answer. "Anyway, I think I'll really have to use my 'power' properly to take you on now, Captain."

Rem spoke with the bathwater up to his neck. Ignoring the attendants' sidelong glances, Encrid looked at Rem. What was in those gray eyes? Rem, too, now had fighting spirit and a desire to win. It was something Encrid had never seen before. However hard he had fought, had Rem ever shown such feelings toward him? Had he ever shown this kind of presence? He had said it was hard to use his power for fear of killing Encrid by accident. "And if you do?" PLOP. Flicking the bathwater, Rem answered,

"It'll be fun." Encrid smiled too. The training-mad lunatic and the axe-wielding lunatic met each other's eyes. An unprecedented presence passed between them. Watching, Jaxon said,

"Have you all gone mad?" Audin smiled as usual, while Ragna remained silent. His eyes kept shifting, though. Clearly, he was turning all sorts of thoughts over in his head. "It was Will? Really? Honestly? You're not lying? It's not a trick?"

Krais, who had belatedly stripped and joined them, asked as he entered the bath. Big-eyes had kept up his physical training too, leaving plenty to admire. Some of the attendants chattered that he was more their type.

"One copper coin each if you want to look!"

Several women snickered at his joke. As ever, he got along with everyone. That was the question he had brought into the bath. Amid the thick, drifting steam, everyone's gaze settled on Encrid. He had overcome intimidation, they said. It might not have become a rumor yet, but it was the sort of news that would reach those who knew him. At first, Encrid told the truth.

"I repeat today. The same day repeats every day."

"Enough fiction. Next."

Jaxon answered. That was how unrealistic it sounded. Encrid scratched his head and tried again.

"I got lucky."

The same answer as ever. In truth, he had no other suitable excuse. Rem and the others swallowed their words. Was that supposed to be an excuse? Had the bastard been a genius all along? Surely not. They had taught him themselves. Never mind genius; the man had no talent to speak of. Their eyes held questions, but no suspicion. In truth, there was no explanation to offer except luck.

"Did you bed the goddess of luck or something?"

Rem's muttered remark was, in effect, the answer. Then another visitor burst into the baths.

"Will? Is that right? Is it true?"

It was Marcus, in everyday clothes. His face was flushed, and his clothes were wet, as though he had been caught in the rain. "Since you're here, why not join us?"

At Encrid's casual invitation, Marcus stripped off his clothes and plunged into the bath. His body was better trained than Encrid had expected, with scars here and there. Fewer than Encrid's, of course. "Is it true?"

Marcus's eyes shone. They seemed to hold other questions too: What on earth are you? How far are you going to go?

"Yes."

Encrid confirmed it. He had said he would become a knight, called it his dream, and shown his resolve and determination. But did that mean Encrid could really become a knight? How many people had asked themselves that? Marcus was no different. He had believed Encrid would keep moving forward, but hearing that belief was becoming reality still left him astonished.

"Hah." On the heels of that bemused laugh came,

"My betrothed?"

The Fairy Company Commander barged into the baths. "It's all men in here. You certainly aren't shy. Care to join us?"

Krais welcomed her, but the Company Commander shook her head. "I'd have to pluck out the eyes of anyone but my betrothed who saw me naked. Would that be all right?"

A Fairy joke rang through the baths.