Chapter 348 - Who Are You Worried About?

"I can't go."

Before they even decided who would go and who would stay, Krais declined. Encrid hadn't planned to take him in the first place. "There's too much left to do here. Don't go getting beaten up just because I'm not around."

He spoke with such confidence that Encrid felt obliged to nod.

"Right. I'd better not get beaten up."

No sooner had he renewed that resolve than Krais took a step back. "Why are you doing that? You're scaring me. You're going to hit me, aren't you?"

"Why would I?"

Krais had sounded concerned, so he'd merely answered. "Anyway, I can't go. The guard posts need work, and while I trust Leona, merchants are the sort who'll clean out your storehouse if you leave it in their hands. I need to keep an eye on things."

As he said, Krais couldn't leave. From laying roads through the surrounding area to dealing with those pretentious fools who still hadn't learned their lesson—nominally nobles, but better called morons—he had plenty to do. It seemed even ten of him wouldn't be enough, but that wasn't quite true. Krais still found time for everything else. He took all the breaks he wanted and met everyone he wanted to see. He even seemed to go on occasional dates with Nurat, who had arrived in the city about ten days earlier. Nurat was the Black woman who had served as guard and adjutant to Garrett, battalion commander of the Green Pearl encampment. Krais had first sent Garrett a request for personnel by tying a letter to a crow's leg, and Encrid had heard she'd come to discuss an important matter.

Surely those discussions weren't meant to involve dining together and strolling through the market? There had even been days when Krais hadn't come back to his quarters at all, so one could reasonably guess they'd already done everything there was to do.

Not that it was any business of Encrid's. "Battalion Commander Garrett says he wants to retire, so we need to choose a successor too."

Krais had set his mind on getting involved in every aspect of the city. Watching that enthusiasm, Encrid realized something.

'There's Krona in this.'

He was right. Krais intended to make this city rich. Rich enough that it wouldn't matter if he pocketed a little of what fell by the wayside. Preparing for civil war without giving up on earning gold: that was his goal.

Indeed, while building the guard posts, he'd also set his sights on the various medicinal herbs and poisons found in the marsh. Which was why Sinar found herself saying,

"My heart aches at the thought of sending you on such a long journey without me."

No one could match her at exploring the marsh, distinguishing medicines from poisons, and discovering useful materials. "Does it?"

Her face was doll-like, both in beauty and expression. She spoke without the slightest change in it.

"That was a joke."

"Yes, I know."

"I thought you wouldn't." Then had she not been joking before? No, it had all been jokes. There was no point trying to distinguish between them. Fairy humor really was hard to get used to. Encrid inwardly shook his head. Sinar aside, Audin and Teresa were staying too.

"I still have far too many soldiers left to teach, brother."

Audin spoke with a benevolent smile, but that probably wasn't the whole reason. Encrid instinctively sensed that he was reluctant to go to the capital—or, more precisely, the royal palace. That was no reason to question him. As always, Encrid respected his company members' choices. Nor did he consider the reason for that reluctance important.

"I'll stay and help too."

At some point, Teresa had attached herself firmly to Audin's side. No soldier was brave enough to call them the Giant Brother and Sister to their faces, but the nickname suited them rather well. "All right."

That settled things. "Ugh, the weather looks nasty."

There was Rem, the fierce barbarian. "Once we reach the capital, I have business to attend to on my own."

"Suit yourself."

Jaxon, the Sneaky alley cat, who openly admitted to having an ulterior motive. "All the way to the capital? That'll take about six months."

Why a journey that took fifteen to twenty days along the roads on horseback, weather permitting, should take six months was a mystery.

In any case, there was one lazy swordsman who, left to his own devices, would promptly get lost and start making legends wherever he went with nothing but a sword. "A journey, is it? A pleasure to break the monotony of daily life."

A capricious mage who had taken female form today, tagging along for reasons unknown. "Will there be lots of fighting? I hope so."

A Beastman who'd signed on as an escort without caring whom she was protecting, and who'd thrown all tact to the dogs, expressing her hope for plenty of attackers right in front of her charge. NEIGH!

And one wild horse with mismatched eyes and demonic beast blood in its veins. "Are you people serious?"

The whip-bearing guard looked at each of them in turn, his face growing grave. They had to escort his lord through a perilous journey. They couldn't afford to take any of it lightly. Marcus had even agreed to lead a force as bait for that purpose, yet he'd left ahead of them last night, claiming urgent business. 'Disloyal bastard.'

The whip-bearing guard cursed Marcus inwardly, but Krang had brushed it off.

"He's a busy man."

He'd actually defended him. How were they to reach the capital without him? They should at least have borrowed his escort troops. Failing that, the guard thought they would have to draw upon the seeds sown here and there—the measures prepared in advance—even if those seeds had only grown into saplings so far.

The Language Restoration Guild, for instance. That was one of the seeds his lord had sown.

But even that wasn't an option. 'What the hell?'

The Language Restoration Guild had failed to build up its strength within Border Guard. Militarily, at least, it was pitiful. Apparently, some crazy Frog was rounding up and thrashing anyone who used force? 'What kind of...?'

What nonsense. What Frog had so little to do that it would waste time on that? Just as there were plenty of peculiar humans, there could be such a Frog—but it happened to be staying here, taking on precisely the task that made things difficult for them?

'Is it bound by a covenant?'

A reasonable suspicion. With their hands and feet tied like this, it was a good thing that Encrid's Lunatic Company had agreed to escort them.

It certainly should have been.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' The instincts of a guard who'd spent years risking his life told him these bastards weren't normal. Relying on them alone would be hopeless. Every last one of them inspired unease.

Why would it take six months to reach the royal palace? Why did they seem utterly uninterested in the escort mission? And why were they grinning as they speculated about how many attackers there would be? "Now, you all know how to ride, right?"

Meanwhile, Encrid addressed the group.

"No carriage?"

"A carriage would draw attention! We're already hard-pressed to stay out of sight, and you want a carriage?" The whip-bearing guard burst out angrily, but Rem picked his ear.

"Did that fellow eat something bad? What's he shouting for this early in the morning?"

This fucking bastard...

"Enough."

Just as the guard was about to truly lose his temper, Krang stopped him. His eyes shone brighter than ever. These people struck him as exceedingly unusual too. Krais had more or less figured it out, and Encrid knew it instinctively: Krang possessed extraordinary insight. In other words, he was an excellent judge of character.

Not in the magical sense of seeing into everyone's innermost thoughts, of course. 'An interesting collection of talent.'

He knew instinctively that not one of them was ordinary. If anything, the rumors seemed to understate their abilities.

'Lunatics, eh?'

Whoever had named them deserved a reward. He struggled to find any word but that one to describe them, despite having enjoyed poetry and composition since childhood. 'A fighting force beyond control.'

He could tell at a glance. These weren't people who acted on someone else's orders. Then why were they gathered here? To protect him? Not a chance. "A carriage, my ass. Get your head straight. This is a mission. We're taking that man in front of you to the capital."

At Encrid's rebuke, Rem looked at the two standing off by themselves and asked,

"Those two?"

"I am his guard." The whip-bearing guard was finding it particularly difficult to control himself today. At first he'd somehow managed to contain his agitation. But his lord's unfamiliar behavior had unsettled him, and the events that followed had gone so far beyond common sense that his composure was shaken.

On top of that, he disliked everything about this situation. It all combined to make him uncharacteristically agitated. As he answered, he steadied his breathing and calmed himself.

'This is bad.'

If things went wrong, he might have to take his lord and flee alone. He couldn't afford to get worked up. He drew and released two or so deep breaths. He was no ordinary man himself.

That was when it happened. "His guard?"

"Not our guide?"

"Who is?"

The gray-haired fucker. The blond bastard with the drooping eyes. And finally, the crazy Beastman completed the trio.

'Ah, these fucking bastards.' "Stop teasing him."

Encrid put an end to it. Rem and the others obeyed as a matter of course. Krang's eyes gleamed even brighter at the sight.

'He can control them?'

These unpredictable whirlwinds of people? How? Through ability? Through skill? No. 'Influence.'

Like Krang himself, they had been influenced by Encrid. They listened to him. They respected his wishes. Encrid was the key to controlling them.

'Ah.'

Krang's insight truly was exceptional. Seeing the result, he grasped the process. 'If they were mediocre, Enkie would have looked like nothing but a madman to them.'

To ordinary people, Encrid's attitude was difficult to understand. Standing beside him was harder still. He was a difficult man to associate with, yet just as difficult to ignore. Whatever he did drew one's attention, and his way of life could feel like a rebuke. All sorts of people must have passed through Encrid's life. Some would have criticized him. Others would have made a conscious effort to ignore him. Some might even have admired his persistence.

But none of them could have stayed by his side. That was the kind of man Encrid was. Then what did that make those who remained?

'Utter madmen.'

Or people endowed with outstanding talent in some field. People who wouldn't crumble at the sight of Encrid. "Interesting."

Krang spoke as he reached his conclusion.

"See? He says we're interesting. You've got a good eye for people. What'd you say your name was?"

Rem walked over to Krang and put an arm around his shoulders. Hardly something to do to a man who would become a nation's king. Even an ordinary noble would have raised a fuss and demanded his arm be cut off. Naturally, Rem didn't care about such things. Neither did Krang.

Before the guard could have a fit, Krang waved a hand and answered,

"Krang."

"Good. I'll keep you safe. Let's go." After a stretch of clear weather, the sky was dark today. Hazy gray clouds blocked the morning sunlight.

"Why are you coming, anyway?"

Behind them, Encrid asked Odd-Eyes. NEIGH.

No human could converse with a horse. The guard wondered why that one was talking to a damn horse now.

"Ah, you're bored. You must have explored everything around here. All right, come along." Encrid appeared to be having a conversation with it. As he spoke, he stroked the mane of the horse with the peculiar eyes. It was a wild horse, neither saddled nor shod.

'That bastard isn't normal either.'

He only looked normal by comparison. The guard resolved to stay more alert than ever. Odd-Eyes came along, but allowed no one onto its back.

"May fortune favor you in battle."

Graham saw them off and provided horses.

"Have you decided on a route?"

Naturally, Krais had come out to the city entrance too. "Shall I lead if you're not sure?"

Ragna interjected.

"Are you mad? Want to spend six months wandering the continent?"

At Rem's reproach, Ragna turned his head.

"A barbarian who can't even fight should keep his mouth shut." "... You lost?"

Jaxon reacted to that. Rem's cheek twitched. Something that barely qualified as a smile lingered on his face.

Encrid eased between them. He was an accomplished rider too; his saddled horse moved just as he directed. "We'll follow the main road."

"What?"

The guard was the most startled by those words. Krang was a little surprised too. It wasn't that he doubted their abilities, but weren't they inviting danger? "Oh, you'd already thought of that? I was going to suggest it if you hadn't."

Krais nodded as he spoke.

"Yes. It seemed like the thing to do."

"A hunch?"

"Half of it."

"And the other half?"

"I thought it through." Encrid brushed a hand back through his short hair. Krais had trimmed it for him recently.

Krang considered their exchange. He was no fool either.

'We've already been exposed. They know.' He'd faced threats to his life in many places. That wealth of experience made him quick to grasp the situation. Those after him were already in position before he'd even left. Whether they took the main road or wandered mountain trails, the result would be the same.

Better to follow the road and press for speed. On horseback, without a carriage, that was the fastest way. Few could easily rival Krang's own experience traveling the continent. A line soon traced itself through his mind: the fastest route from Border Guard to the capital.

"I know a few shortcuts."

Encrid nodded at Krang's words. An escort charge who understood him so readily. Nothing to complain about there. KRA-BOOM!

Just then, thunder crashed and lightning struck far away. Blue lightning forked down over the Penn-Hanil Mountains. Any mountain ranger up there would be in terrible danger. With weather like this, of course, they would have come down from the mountains long ago. Then rain began to fall, pattering in scattered drops.

"Well, then."

CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP.

Encrid led the way as they set their horses in motion. They were all proficient riders. Esther simply became a panther and ran. Watching them disappear into the distance, Graham murmured,

"Will they be all right?"

"Who are you worried about?"

That was Krais's answer. They were contenders for the strongest fighting force in the entire region. An attack by a band of assassins?

If that sort of thing could get them killed, wouldn't they all have crossed that river of death hand in hand long ago?