Chapter 327 - By Instinct

By instinct. "Waaaaaah!"

Cheers erupted from behind Rem, Teresa, and Audin. Naturally, word of what had happened at the Green Pearl encampment had spread to Border Guard like the wind. The hero who had defeated Black Blade, the Cultists, and Aspen was returning. Cheers alone would hardly have been enough. Encrid saw something like flower petals drifting down over his head. There weren't many: scattered, dried petals. He spotted the people throwing them, too—a handful of small children and several women. One child and one woman looked familiar. The child gazed straight at him, eyes shining.

'You said you wanted to be an herbalist.' It was winter. They must have searched for flowers that bloomed even in this season, found and picked their petals, then carefully dried them. How much trouble had they gone to for this? Dried petals, white mingled with pink, fell over his head. There weren't many, but the affection and care behind them came through plainly. Encrid smiled. The child who dreamed of becoming an herbalist looked at Encrid's face. Seeing that beloved hero smile brought a happiness unlike any the child had ever known. Even gathering winter petals until small fingertips blistered and split would remain a happy memory. Encrid passed the child and walked farther inside. Rem fell into step on his right. "Have fun out there?"

"Quite a bit."

News might have reached them, but they wouldn't know everything that had happened. "Brother, your body has suffered greatly," Audin said from behind. Suffered? He'd been half dead. He had come back with quarrels hanging from his back and lost a tremendous amount of blood. Just when he thought he was recovering, a knight had arrived and taken a swing at him. He was only doing this well because he'd eaten and rested properly at the Green Pearl encampment. "A few minor sprains."

His answer was half a joke. "My Lord, my Father. Why have you granted him so frail a body?"

Encrid knew Audin was praying about the body he was looking at: his. Objectively speaking, Encrid's physique had developed enough to rival a Beastman's. Beastmen were naturally muscular enough to have defined abs without training. To rival them meant his body was exceptionally sturdy. But perhaps Audin could see only what was lacking. That bear of a religious bastard had a body like a Beastman and a Giant combined, didn't he? "There is still room for training."

Leaving Audin's muttering behind, Encrid walked on, and Ragna took his place on the left. His right arm had yet to heal and was swathed in bandages. His thigh wound must have healed already; he walked without difficulty. Ragna had been injured all over, too, but aside from his right arm, he was now in fairly good shape. Dunbachel followed behind Rem, and Teresa limped beside Audin. As they walked together, the cheers grew louder.

"Rem the Undying!" The battle against Black Blade and the Cultists would still be vivid in the minds of civilians and soldiers alike. Hence cries like "Rem the Undying." Cheers for Audin and Teresa mingled with them now and then. The nickname "Giant Brother and Sister" was rather funny, but Encrid didn't laugh. Dunbachel grumbled about why she didn't have a nickname. As they walked, an occasional crazed woman's shout rang out.

"Take me!"

"Take what?" Rem shot back.

"Not you!"

"Wouldn't take you if you were free!" Anyone who could hold a shouted conversation amid those cheers was clearly no ordinary soul. Looking over, Encrid recognized a market trader who had raised two children on her own. He had seen her on his way through before. The grit with which she'd scraped out a living hadn't gone anywhere. That steadfastness and strength deserved respect. The cheers continued, his name chanted on every side. Half the triumphal welcome had been arranged by the lord; the other half came from the city's people of their own accord. In truth, the lord's part was no different. His welcome was heartfelt. Watching Encrid return to Border Guard, the lord considered what would have happened if Aspen had won. How could he have borne that dreadful outcome? What would the royal court have thought of him, beaten senseless as soon as he became lord? No, what would they have done? He would have been lucky to keep his head after taking the blame for defeat. "Wooo!"

That was why even the lord was roaring like a beast. "So handsome!"

"Sword of Endurance!"

"Captain's Sword!" Hearing those nicknames, Encrid was reminded that words outpaced even a galloping horse. Hadn't the news arrived ahead of his carriage? Of course, he knew the advance force that had left for Border Guard first was behind it. The uninjured units had returned ahead of him, so naturally word had spread. Walking amid the cheers, Encrid stroked the head of the child who dreamed of becoming an herbalist, then gave the middle-aged woman who sold seasoned jerky a small nod. "Marry me!" called Vanessa, the innkeeper.

"Are you mad?" he shot back. Throughout the carriage ride, he'd been busy reviewing everything he'd gained and learned from these repeated todays. That was why he hadn't anticipated this reception. Perhaps that made it all the more welcome. It would be a lie to say he'd never dreamed of a moment like this when he set his heart on becoming a knight. Here was a child he had protected. Here was that child's mother. Here was someone who had thanked him for protecting her son, and a craftsman who had given him boots. Within the walls of this city were people, living their lives one day at a time. His sword had protected them. It would be a lie to say that didn't satisfy him. Even so, the world would remain merciless. Monsters would pour endlessly from the Demonic Realm and cause demonic beasts to be conceived, while wars born of the competing interests of different races would always stake lives on their outcome. An end to war—a knight who ended the fighting.

The end of all things—a knight who stood at the world's end.

Encrid entered the barracks, reaffirming his dream. It was roughly midwinter; spring was still some way off. To others, these days had not been particularly long. But for Encrid, who had endured three overlapping sets of todays, this was his return from a very long battlefield indeed.

* * *

"Finally got rid of that alley cat?"

Encrid was resting inside the barracks when Rem abruptly approached with that question. Before he could answer, Rem nodded.

"Good work. Good work." He meant Jaxon. Would he be even happier if Encrid said he really had abandoned him? Of course, he wouldn't believe it even if Encrid said so. He seemed to be asking just for the sake of it, without any real interest, so Encrid gave him an offhand reply. "Is he mine to throw away?"

"Then if you didn't throw him away, where'd that prickly little cat bastard go?" Esther, the panther who actually belonged to the cat family, wasn't there. She must have been busy; she'd vanished as soon as they arrived. "What if he died, for instance?"

Encrid asked out of curiosity about Rem's reaction. Why hadn't he considered the possibility of death? Encrid himself had died more times fighting Aspen than he could count. Rem snorted.

"As if that bastard would die."

An indirect way of acknowledging his skill. "Hmm."

In that case, did Rem have the same faith in him? That he wouldn't die easily? Almost before Encrid had finished the thought, Rem spoke again. "You and the goddess of luck have something going on, don't you, Captain? Knew you'd live."

Nothing could have been further from the truth, yet from anyone else's perspective it made sense. How had he made it out alive? He would be hard-pressed to answer that. He couldn't simply brush it off with his usual "I got lucky." Rem quickly lost all interest in Jaxon, the alley cat. Instead, he began nudging Encrid in the side, urging him to tell them what he'd been doing. Encrid recounted what had happened. Audin interjected now and then. "Dislocations? Not enough muscle, brother."

"We need to build back muscles that mere quarrels cannot pierce, brother." What the hell were arrowproof muscles? Wasn't that impossible without hardened skin like a Giant's? Rem and Audin weren't the only ones listening. Everyone had an ear turned toward him. Even Ragna seemed attentive. Surprisingly, Krais was listening most intently of all. To Krais, that was only natural. He'd wanted to ask at the Green Pearl encampment, but when had he had the chance? That damned Garrett wouldn't let go of the Captain. He'd tried to ask in the carriage on the way back, but Encrid had kept his eyes closed. It was clearly no time to interrupt him. So now was his chance. 'How did he get out?'

Krais had examined the battlefield Encrid had escaped from. Searched it. Scoured every inch. What had the departed Aspen commander done? He'd worked backward from the traces left behind to find out. 'Spells. Magic.'

He hadn't heard the details, but he had heard a rough account of what had happened. His conclusion was this: the enemy had committed all those troops to trade them for one man's life. Krais had blamed himself for failing to anticipate it. 'My clever ideas nearly got the Captain killed.'

Hadn't he been the one to suggest introducing a variable? Of course, the Captain had volunteered, so the choice had been his own. Even so, Krais knew he'd been thoroughly outplayed. 'They read me.'

The enemy had read his intentions completely. He'd been soundly beaten. Just thinking about it embarrassed him. Wasn't he always wondering what the unit's commanders had inside their heads? Sometimes—no, often—he wondered why they couldn't see something so obvious when all they had to do was consider what came before and after. At first, he'd honestly thought they were pretending not to know. Now he understood. Everyone's thinking had a different scope. 'I was arrogant.'

His self-reproach was brief. Encrid had said it was all right, too, so he didn't dwell on negative feelings. But one question remained. "How did you escape?"

Krais voiced that question. The enemy had prepared an inescapable prison, a hunting ground with the earth itself as a net. Along with a thousand soldiers, they had even worked to turn the terrain into an ally. 'No one could escape.'

Not unless they were a knight. Did that mean Encrid was a knight? No. Hadn't a real knight come and swung his sword at him, even if only once? The knight had looked relieved as he left, which had reassured Krais, but he'd still been on edge, afraid the man might turn half-mad and come back at any moment. Anxiety had tightened around his heart. How many knights did Aspen even have, to send one here? Did they have as many as three? And one of them had come to take a sword to the Captain? It was hard to believe. That was why he wanted to ask. How had Encrid escaped? He wasn't a knight, nor had he anticipated the enemy's thinking. He'd walked straight into their preparations. Fallen into their trap. Could good luck alone have gotten him out? 'Not unless the goddess of luck herself grabbed his wrist and ran him out of there.'

It made no sense. Practical since childhood, Krais faced reality with his cool, clear mind. Luck couldn't have done it. Seriousness filled Krais's eyes. What was the big deal about telling him? Encrid had no particular reason to hide it, so he answered honestly.

"By instinct." Silence fell. Outside the barracks, the winter wind howled. Rem reacted first, beginning to snicker. "Pff, hahaha. Knew he'd say that."

The others reacted as well. "... Instinct?"

Krais tilted his head, while Audin began to pray.

"Father, were you watching over him?" Dunbachel twitched her nose and asked in a careful tone, "How do you develop that instinct?"

Of course, no one answered. Teresa stared at Encrid. Not once since they'd met had that man lied to her. So this, too, must be the truth. He amazed her all over again. Where were that human's limits? Could someone escape a battlefield like that on instinct? Despite her injuries, an urge welled up in Teresa. She wanted to swing her sword. To stand facing him with her shield raised. As her presence began to show, Audin checked her with a gentle "Sister."

He added a touch, pressing down on her shoulder to make the message clear: if she didn't restrain herself, she would get a beating. In her current condition, Teresa couldn't fight as much as she wanted anyway, and she had no intention of giving Audin an excuse to beat her. She wasn't a beast, merely a half-Giant. "Yes, I know. Teresa the Wanderer is very patient."

Referring to herself in the third person, she acknowledged that this was a moment for restraint. Ragna had somehow begun dozing in a corner. For a while, he'd seemed to be listening, but now he was back to his usual self. He'd entered to cheers just a short time ago, with his own name among the cries, yet his attitude hadn't changed: nothing in the world interested him. After pondering Encrid's words, Krais spoke.

"Tell me more."

This wasn't a story that could end with the single word "instinct." Encrid readily explained, and Krais understood. "You mean a sense that detects danger, that reads the flow of a battlefield? That's possible?"

Encrid was almost ready to nod inwardly at that muttered question. Yes, it was possible. Just not easy. He'd had to die in a truly remarkable variety of ways before that instinct became ingrained. Not that he was complaining. Wasn't he satisfied with what he'd gained? Throughout the journey, half asleep, he'd been busy sorting through everything he had. That, too, had brought new realizations and lessons. "That's incredible."

Krais's eyes shone, even though no Krona was involved. That was a wonder in itself: interested in something with no gold at stake. Several days flew by after Encrid's return. There was talk of holding a feast, but they were already busy dealing with the aftermath of battle. First, they had to dispose of the bodies and demonic beast carcasses. Properly skinned wolf demonic beast hides could earn Krona. They needed tanning, but Border Guard had a well-established leatherworkers' guild. Even so, it was labor-intensive work. Compensation had to be delivered to fallen soldiers' families, bodies buried or burned. The fires outside Border Guard would not die down for some time. Graham genuinely wanted to hold a feast, but he had no time. Letters arrived without pause, and visitors began turning up unannounced as well. The two most important visitors among them asked for Encrid. The problem was:

"He says he can't come right now."

His adjutant's report made Graham break into a cold sweat. "Why?"

"His men are stopping us. They say he mustn't be disturbed right now." Fuck.

Graham decided to do his utmost to stall. Once those lunatics started running wild, there would be no stopping them. Better to hold things off here himself than watch that disaster unfold. Being a lord was no easy task. "Ahh..."

For a brief moment, Graham missed his days as heavy infantry Company Commander. A sigh escaped him unbidden.