Chapter 330 - This Bastard Is a Lunatic

This bastard was a lunatic.

'This bastard is a lunatic.'

In that instant, Kin glimpsed the madness hidden beneath Encrid's surface. Looks and ability aside, something was wrong with his character. She had grasped his true nature in a flash.

Handling House Vaisar's external affairs had honed her eye for people. Now that discernment shone.

'Madman!'

What would he do if the count charged him with insulting a noble right here? No, what if he went home and raised an army over this affront?

The count was a headache even for the central government. He was known to have several fighters of proto knight caliber under him. In fact, they had yet to ascertain the full extent of his strength. It made one wonder why he was still lying low, biding his time.

Unable even to swallow, Kin watched the count's mouth. Encrid, on the other hand, was perfectly composed.

'Quite the talker.'

People killed by monsters? People killed by demonic beasts? The people left behind? A man who claimed to worry about them had turned a blind eye instead of sending reinforcements? A man who neglected even his own family?

Had he picked up Edin Molsen off the streets? If not, why hadn't he so much as mentioned his name? On hearing that his father had arrived, Edin Molsen had even asked to be dispatched to the Green Pearl encampment. That was very, very, exceedingly strange.

'He used sparring with me as an excuse to stay here.'

At some point, he had stopped sparring and begun edging away. Now he had abandoned even his public pretext and bolted.

There was also what Krais had said on the way here.

["He'll be a frightening man. Well, you can tell that just by looking at him. But the way he casts aside his own son is even more frightening."]

Still, Encrid trusted his own intuition more now. It told him a winged chimera that had swallowed dozens of great serpents sat before him. In other words, this appearance was a disguise. The mask glittered, but seeing what lay beneath made it repulsive.

"Not working?"

The count's manner changed at once. He did not get angry. Instead, he asked like a trader hardened by life in the marketplace, and the atmosphere loosened again in an instant.

"It isn't."

"I hear you fought splendidly while rescuing a child. Our casualties would have been greater had you not stepped forward, and afterward you crossed the battlefield at the risk of your life, didn't you?"

It wasn't wrong, though there were plenty of details he could have corrected. Encrid did not bother. Why draw out the conversation?

"Yes, so they say."

"You speak as though it happened to someone else."

"I haven't recovered from the exhaustion of battle yet. I haven't had time to think."

That was bullshit, of course. He had lost himself in his own world and kept two nobles waiting for two days, one of them the head of a house. What was this nonsense about battle fatigue?

"Have you seen my bodyguard?"

"I have."

"What do you think would happen if you fought?"

Encrid considered for a moment. Honestly, he had wanted to face the man the moment he saw him. But not now. He mustn't.

If they fought now, he might unintentionally kill him. It would be different if the man were far beneath him or, conversely, superior in skill. Otherwise, he might kill him. He couldn't properly control his strength yet.

"I don't know."

"You're no fun."

"Would confidently declaring that I'd win make me fun?"

"That would be entertaining."

That same bodyguard stood behind the count. Naturally, he could hear their conversation. The count had brought it up for him to hear. In short, it was a provocation.

The bodyguard made no attempt to conceal his threatening air. His eyes told Encrid that if he dared attack, he would be crushed in an instant.

Encrid ignored him completely. Ordinarily, he would have fought, not backed away. Yet here he was, avoiding a fight? Anyone who knew him would have worried he had a fever.

"Then I'll settle for being no fun."

"I see. Things will get bothersome once I leave. Will you be all right?"

"I'll be fine."

The count gazed at him, and the corners of his mouth rose further.

"I worried for nothing. Hahaha."

Laughing heartily, the count rose. His bodyguard glanced at him and quelled his threatening air, turning aside to wait for his master to pass.

To Encrid, he looked exactly like an obedient dog. Did he get his treats on time? Did his master take him on regular walks? Who knew?

"My offer stands. If you decide it isn't too late, you're welcome anytime," the count said as he turned away.

"Yes."

"Look after my son and daughter as well. They seem eager to leave my embrace."

The count was a thorough man. He could probably take Edin Molsen back whenever he pleased. He also freely mentioned the daughter Edin had brought along disguised as a boy.

Encrid already knew, of course. Anyone perceptive would have noticed. Every member of his Company would know.

"Have a safe journey. I won't see you far."

After keeping him waiting two days, he wouldn't even see him far. Lord Graham, who had been waiting outside at the count's request, stepped forward to see him off instead.

"Your Excellency."

"He's a Company Commander under you, isn't he? Far too insolent. How about a quick hanging?"

The count was still joking as he left. Graham answered, sweating profusely.

"If I hang Independent Company Commander Encrid, the citizens will stone me to death."

He was saying that Encrid was a hero the city had made. The count laughed heartily once more.

With that booming laugh, he said, "I'm joking."

Was he really? Encrid watched the count leave.

Soon the drawing-room door closed. The soldiers guarding it stood as though they could neither see nor hear. Ten lives wouldn't have been enough if they got involved.

"Are you insane?"

Only then did Kin speak. She herself had watched the verbal sparring with bated breath.

"I hear that a lot."

Encrid was as composed as ever.

"But if you do that..."

She must have had a decent head on her shoulders to get this far. Was she simply too shocked? Encrid spotted the refreshments left in the drawing room and popped one into his mouth before speaking. He was hungry. Hadn't he gone two days without eating?

Crunching on a cookie, he asked, "Have you decided to hand Border Guard over to the count?"

"That is out of the question."

Kin was here precisely to keep Encrid or the lord from being won over. Her presence was also a warning from Marquis Vaisar.

"If we have to tell him to back off anyway, the count won't care whether we say it politely or rudely."

Kin understood his point. Count Molsen was a loaded crossbow of a man. Cross him, and that crossbow's tip, its arrowhead, might turn toward the royal palace. That was the danger he posed.

Eliminating him outright was difficult: his power was considerable, and the central authorities were far from united. At this rate, it would be no surprise if the country split apart.

Kin brushed aside those stray thoughts and looked again at the madman called Encrid. His argument had a blind spot. Knowing something and acting on it were two different things. This man was not normal. Her opinion hadn't changed.

"You've got some nerve." That was Kin's verdict.

"Will you stay and deal with the nuisances?"

Once again, Encrid went straight to the point. Kin shook her head.

"Now that the count has withdrawn, I cannot remain here. It would create other problems."

If rumors spread that Marquis Vaisar had his eye on this place, it could damage his standing at court. Marcus hadn't gone to the capital rather than insist on staying for no reason. He had to consider his family's political position. Naturally, he couldn't afford to be falsely branded a rebel, either.

That was why the method Black Blade's leader had used to force Marcus's withdrawal had been so remarkable. When it came to cunning little schemes, he was on Krais's level.

"Well, then."

"You want me to leave right now?" Kin asked incredulously.

Did this bastard know she'd waited here for two days? More importantly, didn't everyone turn to look at a beauty like her? And just once? If only. Men and women alike looked back at her countless times.

Kin Vaisar was a renowned beauty even in the capital. How many young men there had wept and anguished merely because her outside duties kept her away? Yet this man was dismissing her so breezily, so neatly.

"Was there something else? Didn't you say staying would be difficult?"

He was right. Kin rose. She had to leave. It was time to go. Nothing good would come of staying longer. Still, surely she could spare a day?

As she stood, her bodyguard approached and whispered, "An unusual man."

Her bodyguard carried spells in her eyes through some means. The two were like sisters.

"A madman." Kin started walking.

They called him the irresistible Captain. Was this how he made a first impression? If so, it was an effective method. She didn't know what she thought of him as a man, but he had certainly piqued her interest.

'Unusual.'

"Well, then," Encrid repeated.

Was he telling her to hurry up and get lost? Kin felt offended, but forced herself to ignore it and walked away. A brief farewell followed.

Once outside, she saw the assorted hangers-on watching for their opportunity: life peers, trading company men who had bought titles with gold, and the like. There were several hereditary nobles among them, too, as well as a few noblewomen who had come to admire Encrid's face.

A collection of people without much power to their names. No, some would have powerful backers. Either way, they were a pack of jackals gathered to seize the stroke of fortune called Encrid.

'Political jackals.'

They likely posed no danger, but dealing with each would be a headache. How would it turn out? Kin decided not to worry. He had driven off even Count Molsen with nothing but his tongue. Worry ought to be saved for people who needed it.

Kin looked back three times as she left the city. Then a thought suddenly struck her, and she swore.

"Fuck."

Her sisterlike bodyguard turned toward her. They had just boarded the carriage.

"Kin?"

"That bastard didn't even ask my name."

To be treated like this despite her celebrated beauty. It felt as though he had ignored both her family's prestige and her looks. Yet she didn't entirely dislike it.

'That's a first.'

A crazy bastard like that. They would have to meet again. Kin made up her mind.

Her bodyguard worried about the mistress she regarded as a sister. Kin's flaw was her dogged obsession with pointless things.

* * *

Many nobles and trading companies coveted Encrid.

"I can't handle this alone."

Graham threw up his hands. Encrid said he understood and stepped in.

"If you come to my territory, you and my daughter..."

The first was an imbecile trying to sell off his own daughter. Encrid brought Esther along.

"Is it all right for you to stay in human form?"

"It's fine."

Esther's beauty was enough to turn the head of anyone with a pair of balls. Had Kin seen her, she would have nodded in understanding. Wasn't it obvious why Encrid had shown no interest in her face?

"Well, um."

The daughter-peddling noble shut his trap in no time. On the other hand...

"And what is the lady's name?"

Some tried to make advances toward Esther. Encrid had to intervene quickly. She was about to act without even asking whether she could kill them.

After that, he took Sinar along instead. He couldn't mass-produce noble corpses. Sinar wouldn't kill them outright, at least. But she had a drawback of her own.

"He is my betrothed."

Strange rumors began to spread. People spoke of the irresistible Captain, betrothed to a Fairy and a witch. Encrid let them. At least this would stop them from using their daughters or other beauties to lure him.

"Why don't you take me?"

"I have time to spare as well."

Dunbachel and Teresa occasionally spouted nonsense, too. Both qualified as beauties, but taking Teresa would make some nobles think he had brought her to beat them to death. And in some ways, Dunbachel was even quicker to act than Esther. Better to let the strange rumors spread.

When merchants came to talk gold, he brought Krais.

"Join my trading company, and you could have wealth beyond your imagining."

"Yes. How much?"

"... Hmm?"

"Yes, so how much?"

Krais was coldly practical.

"Don't even mention anything under a hundred gold coins. And don't think of offering a one-time payment, either. The contract will run month to month, and we'll take an ownership stake as well. What did you say your trading company was called?"

No merchant was willing to part with an ownership stake.

"That's absurd!"

"The door's over there."

"You wretch!"

"Is there a problem?"

A few soldiers from the standing army appearing behind the shouting man was all it took. His supposed bodyguards merely looked on warily. Even without the Lunatic Company, the standing army outmatched them. These men had survived the fighting against Aspen. One wrong word would get the guards themselves killed.

The merchant shut his mouth and withdrew. In truth, he was grinding his teeth furiously, but that still counted as leaving quietly enough.

Others invoked their authority. At times, Encrid wanted to send Rem to split their skulls, but he endured it and let it pass. Better to keep things amicable.

"Enter my service. It will bring you greater honor. I could even recommend you to a knight order. Yet you dare refuse me?"

Encrid truly did believe in keeping things amicable.

"A blade has no eyes."

So he had to fend the man off with the stalest of old sayings.

"You dare threateeen..."

SWISH.

Encrid swung the edge of his hand, displaying the skill to cut the noble's few remaining hairs. The man fell silent.

"A mosquito."

What mosquito would be out in the middle of winter? His lordship couldn't push any further. The man before him looked ready to bury someone as insignificant as him if he got on his nerves.

"Are you sure that's all right?" the lord asked worriedly.

"If that fellow truly has a formidable army and can launch a Territorial War..."

"Then we say, 'Oh, thank you very much,' and fight." Krais finished the thought.

Border Guard was, in name and fact, the city with the greatest military strength in the region. What it lacked was gold. Its most pressing need was therefore Krona.

The city had to expand, but Krona wasn't circulating freely. If someone attacked, they could simply swallow him whole and collect war reparations.

And so Krais turned them away, one after another. Sinar and Esther helped turn them away, too. Encrid was constantly being summoned.

After about a fortnight of this, he realized his body had mostly healed. His feel for it had returned as well. Now he could avoid killing an opponent by accident.

"Whew."

He steadied his breathing in satisfaction. What would have happened if he had fought the count's bodyguard back then? He couldn't know for certain, but he would have killed or seriously injured the man.

At the time, he had been reviewing everything he had learned and mastered. It had yet to become fully ingrained in his body, so he couldn't control it. Thus, even as he spent the past fortnight on pointless business, he had been refining everything he possessed as much as possible.

Now a sudden urge to swing his sword to his heart's content surged within him. As it happened, not a single one of those noble or merchant nobodies had sought him out today.

Encrid returned to the barracks. He had been too busy to visit often lately.

A familiar atmosphere greeted him there. Silence, with tension running through it. A heavy air pressed down on the barracks, as though the slightest provocation might set something off.

The place reeked of a danger he hadn't smelled lately, yet knew well. In other words, it felt much as it had the first time he entered the troublemaker squad's barracks.