Chapter 236 - A Path to Knighthood

Encrid's Will was neither complete nor perfect. It was a fragment. A piece, a mere part.

Even so, it was Will. That was why Marcus was astonished, and why the Fairy Company Commander had hurried back from her trip, whether it had been business or leave. She did not deny that she had also come to enjoy the view, since he was in the baths. "A fine sight."

Her words were an admission in themselves. "Was there something you wanted to discuss in private?"

"No."

She had literally come only to check whether he really had overcome intimidation. How strange, Encrid thought. He understood that what he had done was remarkable, but was it really worth all this fuss? After all, he himself knew it was only a part, a fragment. Of course, that alone had filled him with both exhilaration and joy. Nothing else could possibly give him such fulfillment. Yet even as he felt fulfilled, he hungered again. 'If this is the beginning.'

Then he could go further. It felt as though his faded, torn dream had not merely been mended, but made whole by something magical. 'No, that's exactly what happened.'

He scratched his cheek at the thought. The curse of a repeating today had stitched the torn fabric of his dream back together. He would not deny that. "Well, then."

The Fairy Company Commander turned and walked out into the pouring rain. Encrid watched her for a moment, then swept his hair back, thinking what a peculiar temperament that Fairy had.

* * *

However nimble a Fairy might be, she could not dodge the rain. Getting soaked was unavoidable. As she walked, Sinar examined the wound in her side. 'It hurts.'

Some salve and a day or two of proper rest would take care of it. The wound was not so slight that she could ignore it, but she could still move. Covering the wound as she walked, the Fairy thought of Encrid. Of the blue eyes that had looked straight at her as he sat in the bath. She had liked his face from the start. So? Had she set her sights on him from the beginning? No. He had certainly been nothing more than someone to tease. Yet somewhere along the way, he had become quite a mouthwatering prospect. 'It would be good to bring him into the fold.'

But that would not be as easy as she wished. She had just finished handling a matter for a guild founded with the aim of reclaiming the kingdom's language. She had judged that it would help her future, help her achieve what she wanted. If it would not, she would have no reason to be here now. And so, she had returned from a rather rough and arduous job, only to hear immediately that Encrid had passed out. No, more precisely, that he had been passing out, but had now endured it without losing consciousness. It would mean nothing to the uninformed, but anyone who knew would understand.

'Intimidation.' Only Will could stop Will. Without an equivalent power, even resistance was impossible. If he had gone beyond resisting and actually endured it...

'Will.' That man, the man she had teased? Will?

Sinar had been too astonished to tend to her own wound. And with good reason. She had eyes, too. Even if she could not gauge another's talent, she had known what state Encrid was in. Even repeated bolts of good fortune could not have made this possible. Yet hardship or crisis, whatever stood before him, he overcame it and rose again, time after time. How could watching him not be a pleasure? 'A man I'd like to show those imbeciles back home.'

Her talk of taking him to meet her parents was half sincere. After all, wasn't it the Fairy way to hide true intentions inside a joke? "He certainly is entertaining."

Sinar's red lips moved as she murmured to herself. SHHHHH!

The rain came down hard, showing no sign of stopping soon.

RRRUMBLE—CRASH!

Thunder sounded amid it. The Fairy smiled without realizing it. Tedious, painful work with a bleak end, yet work she had to do. She had seldom smiled while doing such things. But now, a certain man made her smile so easily. She found that rather ridiculous, yet she was content with the present. Was that why she had stayed when she should have left this place long ago?

'Even making one excuse after another?'

Perhaps it was. Sinar the Fairy walked on. Neither the pain nor what she sought to accomplish could hold her attention now. She simply offered silent congratulations for what Encrid had achieved. For now, that was enough.

* * *

'She looked injured.'

Encrid had eyes, too. His sharpened sense of smell had caught blood amid the distinctive scent of steam. He could tell by looking as well. If he had noticed, the others surely had too. "Looks like she's fallen hard," Rem said.

"For what?"

"For you, Captain. Well, with something like that, no wonder. An Irresistible third leg." Encrid had just risen from the bath and splashed himself with water to rinse away the sweat and everything else. Rem was looking between his legs as he spoke. "Crazy bastard."

At Encrid's response, Rem shook his head.

"I lose. Can't beat that." The man really wasn't right in the head. Encrid kicked at his side. Naturally, Rem dodged. "She comes to see you even when she's hurt. You really are Irresistible."

Ragna added his own remark. "That's a face that ought to go into business with me at a salon. And, wow, especially that."

Krais, too, was looking between Encrid's legs. "The Battalion Commander is here."

Encrid warned them to watch themselves. Beside him, Marcus laughed heartily.

"I'm envious of that myself."

Envious of what, exactly? They all finished washing and headed back. "It must have been quite a nasty piece of work, for that Fairy to get injured. But it doesn't seem serious, so you needn't worry about your betrothed."

Jaxon spoke just before they reached their quarters. Encrid took in what he needed to hear and corrected what needed correcting.

"She's not my betrothed."

"Yes."

Jaxon answered indifferently and opened the door. Dunbachel and Esther looked toward them from inside. In fact, Pin had returned as well. "Is it true?"

Encrid knew Pin's question was directed at him. Was it really Will? Had he really overcome intimidation? She must be asking whether the rumors were true. "I got lucky."

There was little else he could tell her. "Wow."

Pin could only gape in astonishment.

"At this rate, won't you actually become a knight?"

She had thought he wasn't a normal human from the first time she saw him, but this was really... Will. Encrid made no reply to her astonishment. Knighthood was his dream, and he moved toward it. He had never thought in terms of whether he would achieve it or not. He simply pressed onward, even if he had to crawl. Now, that progress had merely borne fruit. They were all settling down, saying it was time to sleep. There were pointless jokes, Rem picking on Dunbachel, and Pin's nonsense about hanging around with language-obsessed lunatics when Encrid asked where she had been. Pin shook her head, saying she couldn't go into greater detail, but no one was particularly interested. Encrid had asked, yet he hadn't listened closely either. "Why ask, then? Why aren't any of you interested in me? You've got such a beautiful woman sharing your quarters!"

Pin's hair was a little dry and rough, but she was far from ugly. Though the repeating todays had erased the female Black Blade bandit's face from Encrid's memory, Pin was certainly a beauty by comparison. "Hrrmph."

Beside her, Esther snorted. It was unmistakably derisive. "Even the panther's laughing at you. Go wash and get some sleep."

Rem snickered as he rebuked her. Pin swore and took her frustration out on the rain-filled sky.

"Fucking rain." With that, she started out to wash. As she reached for the door, Jaxon caught her wrist, and Esther had somehow risen and come to her feet. Rem, Ragna, and Audin turned their heads as well. Encrid stepped in front of Pin. Even Dunbachel twitched her shoulders where she sat and bared her fangs, perhaps alerted by her Beastman instincts. "... What is it?"

Krais alone had noticed nothing.

"A visitor," Encrid answered. These were Border Guard's barracks. Not a room at an inn in the city. Uninvited guests could not easily make their way here. Yet a visitor had come. "Could I see you for a moment?"

As everyone watched the door, a voice came from outside. Encrid stepped forward.

"He's here for me." Opening the door revealed a middle-aged man, soaked through and looking like a drowned rat. The rapier swordsman, once a guard for the Roquefried trading company. The man whose intimidation Encrid had refused that afternoon, leaving him so stunned that he could only repeat, "Huh?" "Finally come to your senses, have you?"

Rem jeered from behind him. Was that some sort of racial trait? His tongue never rested. The rapier swordsman ignored him. "I took the liberty of coming because I hoped to see it once more."

He went straight to what he wanted to say. How great a shock had the afternoon dealt him? His present state made the answer plain. He was drenched, yes, but there were also dark circles beneath his eyes, and his cheeks had grown hollow in just half a day. "As often as you like."

Encrid did not refuse. "You just washed. Isn't it a bother?"

Krais asked a practical question. Encrid gave a slight shake of his head.

"Why would it be?" If something like this were a bother, he should have put down his sword long ago. The man before him was a rare opponent. He could use intimidation, and Encrid reckoned his actual fighting skills would be considerable, too. He had already been planning to ask for another bout tomorrow. "Something has come up. I must leave tonight. I'm sorry. I knew it was discourteous, but I came anyway."

He had slipped over the barracks wall in the night. Which, naturally, meant he had evaded the guards. An impressive feat. That aside, Encrid resolved to make his troops' training more rigorous. They couldn't let someone climb over the wall so easily. Quite apart from that, he was also privately delighted. "There he goes again."

Whatever Rem might say behind him, someone had come seeking a match with him. Ivarn the Constrictor, was it? This was no straw man like him. That straw man had left such a shock that, though Encrid had forgotten Edin Molsen's name, the three syllables of Ivarn's still lingered in his memory. His opponent wielded Will. In a sense, that was the same as being a true proto knight. The rain had not stopped. It had eased, but it would still soak them. Freshly washed, Encrid let himself get wet again without a care. What did a little water matter? The ground was muddy when they reached the private training yard. The dirt usually reduced the risk of injury in a fall, but on rainy days it clung to the feet. Of course, the footing posed little problem for the two men standing there.

* * *

"I'll go alone."

That was what Encrid had said as he left. Everyone had more or less accepted it, but Jaxon fundamentally distrusted human beings. 'If anything goes wrong.'

He would strike from behind. That was why he had vanished from the quarters alone. Rem noticed and stayed put. So did the others. Esther sensed a subtle change in Encrid's aura.

'What is it?'

She knew how to use weapons, too, but unless it involved mana, she shouldn't have been able to sense it so keenly. Had the power that weakened her curse grown weaker? No, that wasn't it. Had his attitude changed? He was the same lunatic as ever. Yet she sensed a subtle change. That was no reason to stand in the pouring rain and watch, however. Esther closed her eyes. She was sleepy. Lately, she had transformed into a human several times and steadily honed her spell world. A few experiences had taught her something of the world as well. She was no longer an ignorant mage shut away in her own world. She had a panther's rough life on the battlefield to thank for that. And what she had learned was this: in human affairs, there was no knowing what might suddenly happen. One had to prepare in advance. Mages were, after all, creatures of preparation. Esther rested her head on her legs. Encrid wasn't going to die, so she put it out of her mind. She sank into her own world. "The alley cat's gone, so I'll get some sleep," Rem said.

"Oh, you're right. Jaxon's already disappeared?"

Krais had only just noticed. They had all decided to spend the time in their quarters as they pleased, yet before enough time had passed to drink a cup of tea, Rem got up.

"It is a bit boring."

That surely spoke for all of them. They would find an excuse to go watch, if that was what it took.

* * *

Facing the swordsman in the training yard, Encrid once again refused the intimidation.

"It's real."

The rapier swordsman was astonished anew. Naturally. Who could have expected Encrid to return having awakened Will like this? A trickle of blood ran from Encrid's left nostril in return.

'It is easier than the sword.'

Still, he couldn't use it indiscriminately yet. But there was something he could feel. "The more you use it, the stronger it will grow."

The rapier swordsman spoke as he watched the thin trickle of blood mingle with the rain. It matched what Encrid felt. The more he used it, the stronger it would grow. His body was already telling him that. They looked at each other for a long while. The rain grew heavier again, and the rapier swordsman stared into those blue eyes before speaking. What he said was this: "I cannot reveal my affiliation, but I belong to an honorable knight order. That is all I can tell you for now, but would you consider coming with me?" The roar of pouring rain filled the space between them.

RRRRUMBLE! CRASH!

The rain, which had seemed about to stop, fell harder, and thunder boomed. Brilliant blue lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the world. The rapier swordsman's eyes met Encrid's.

'Not a spar.'

He hadn't come because he wanted to fight. He had come to assess Encrid again and win him over. What's more, he had said he belonged to an honorable knight order. In other words:

"Join the knight order. I will light your path."

This was a path to knighthood.