Chapter 61 - A Fairy's Jokes

Encrid gathered the corpses in one place and waited for a patrol. "Even this is work."

He muttered to himself as he gathered up the mixed-blood Fairy's corpse. Feeling around for a hold to lift the assassin, his fingertips caught something odd near the chest. He traced it with his fingers and felt it continue around the flank. Opening the assassin's clothes revealed a throwing-blade sheath strapped to the body, with four whistling blades still inside. These were no ordinary weapons. 'Nearly forgot.'

They were excellent weapons, and he had just learned how to throw them. They would come in handy. Hadn't he experienced their power firsthand, with his own body? He took the sheath and all, then thoroughly searched the others' clothes while he was at it, collecting Krona and whatever else he found. Besides the whistling blades, there was some sort of powder and leather pouches with unknown contents. Their strange smell suggested he shouldn't handle them carelessly. If it was poison that worked on contact, he wouldn't be able to find an antidote right away. More importantly, he had always been reluctant to use poison. These were troubling things to carry, for several reasons. He left the poison pouches and the like alone. Naturally, the patrol that later discovered Encrid was horrified. The troublemaker Squad Leader who had vanished on duty had suddenly turned up with five corpses. "What's going on?!"

They were startled enough to level their spears at him at first. "Spies."

Encrid's explanation was brief. It was enough. "I know that fellow. He said he was an errand boy for a peddler who came in four days ago."

One of the patrolmen pointed at the dead crossbowman. Peddlers were merchants who traveled from place to place with goods they could carry on their shoulders. It was a suitable cover. "Didn't you check his identification tag?"

"We did. It was a good forgery."

An expertly forged identification tag. Could those be easy to make? Probably not. Later, one of the soldiers searching the mixed-blood Fairy's clothes with a spear tip grimaced at the split skull. While Encrid waited to one side, the Fourth Company Commander—the Fairy—arrived. After examining the dead assassin's clothes, she spoke. "He carried poison. An assassin, all right."

She had reached that conclusion after examining not only the poison but his build as well. Encrid readily explained about the assassin, and that was that. The patrolmen had regarded him suspiciously throughout his wait, but the misunderstanding was short-lived. "You killed all five? One looks to have been quite skilled."

"These three are Jack, Bo, and Rotten."

One of the patrolmen volunteered that he knew them. Jack was good with a spear, and Bo was agile. Among the ordinary soldiers, Rotten was considered a formidable fighter as well. Those three soldiers, a mixed-blood Fairy assassin, and a crossbowman. Encrid had fought them all without suffering any serious injuries. A few scratches were all he had. "... Alone?"

The patrolman asked, forgetting the Company Commander standing beside him. That was how shocked he must have been. "It just worked out that way."

Encrid answered and looked at the Company Commander. She said nothing, her expression unchanged. She merely gazed at him with those same jewel-green eyes. "Understood. Return to quarters."

"Yes, ma'am."

He saluted and turned to leave. Watching him, the Fairy Company Commander added, "You left your post. You'll have to make up for it later."

How uncompromising. Bringing up leaving his post at a time like this. The three patrolmen exchanged glances. Encrid himself simply nodded. "Yes, understood."

The Company Commander was his superior. Arguing would only waste his breath. Some people were ruthless sticklers for military law and regulations. She didn't seem the type, but wasn't it a subordinate's duty to obey an order like that? Nothing would come of digging his heels in. "I'll be going, then."

Only then did Encrid stride away from the scene. Two days later, two members of the Border Guard came to see Encrid again. Investigating incidents within the city fell to the Border Guard, and they had come to investigate this one. He cooperated fully. "They attacked without warning."

"Did you leave your post because you knew something?"

"No. The two of them did seem awkward, but I just wanted some fresh air."

"So leaving your post happened to expose some spies? These two look as though they died from a single strike each."

"They suddenly tried to kill me."

"Yet you subdued them without getting hurt yourself?" Their questions were sharper than he had expected, but Encrid remained composed. It was only natural: he was the sole surviving eyewitness. "Yes. I was lucky."

"Get lucky twice and you'll knock down the city walls. You must have outclassed them by that much."

One of the two made a halfhearted joke. Neither was saying any of this out of suspicion. Suspecting the victim of an ambush would be rather absurd. More importantly, the Border Guard had already conducted a thorough background check on Encrid. They had finished that when they tried to recruit him. "You've been through a lot."

"Heard you made high grade. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir."

Both outranked him. That was just how ranks worked in the Border Guard. "Are you sure you won't consider joining us? Seems a waste of your skills."

With the investigation over and Encrid about to leave, the short-haired guardsman spoke. "I'm sure."

His flat refusal left the man at a loss.

"Oh. Right."

Encrid went straight back to his quarters. As he opened the door, something suddenly swept down from above his right side. He instinctively bent sideways to evade it, then dropped low and rolled. It had been a close shave: a few strands of his hair were cut off. Having barely dodged, he looked to see what it was. "Oh, you passed the ambush-dodging test!"

Rem was grinning at him. The culprit was the axe he had swung. "Rem, you crazy bastard."

It was the sort of stunt that made anyone swear. Encrid's severed hair fluttered down through the air. A fraction slower and the axe blade would have tattooed the back of his neck somewhere—a tattoo drawn in gushing blood. A scar. "Don't worry. Even if you hadn't dodged, I only meant to trim your hair."

"I'm not even going to bother."

The world was full of lunatics, but a few of the most thoroughly deranged belonged to his squad. Encrid had realized that long ago, so he wasn't even angry. "With assassins coming after you now, shouldn't you learn to handle surprise attacks?"

"Nice excuse."

Encrid shook his head. "About time for a haircut anyway, isn't it?"

Rem said it with an insolent swagger. He did need a trim. His bangs had begun falling across his eyes. He hadn't noticed while fighting the mixed-blood Fairy, focused as he had been and busy preparing several tricks to deceive his opponent, but his hair was now getting in the way of everyday life. "Do me a favor, then."

It wasn't Rem who stepped forward at Encrid's request. Krais approached from behind.

"Yessir." Krais was surprisingly good with his hands. The others could wield swords and axes with astonishing skill, but ask them to cut someone's hair and they produced grotesque results. "I'll cut the bangs a little short and tidy up the rest."

His equipment consisted of a short knife, scissors, and a horn comb. "That'll be ten copper coins."

"Your prices have gone up."

"So has my skill. If you don't like it, you can go to a barber in town."

He didn't want that. The city's barbers were expensive and even less dexterous than Rem. There was no reason to pay twice as much Krona for that. On the other hand, they were excellent at tending wounds, so people went to them with injuries rather than for haircuts. "All right, here we go."

SNIP, SNIP.

Soon, he heard the sound of hair being cut beside his ears. He sat in a chair they had brought out just in front of the quarters. Before long, white snowflakes began falling overhead. Rem, watching beside him, grumbled. "Damned powdered demon shit."

If it snowed, they would be busy clearing the parade ground, the drains, and everything else for a while. That duty applied equally to everyone. Neither Rem nor Ragna could escape the work. Leave the snow uncleared, and the resulting problems would pile up. "I hate it."

Ragna had come outside too, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "It certainly is cold."

Jaxon stood beside him in much the same state. "However much you warm your body, cold like this is hard to endure, brother."

Audin had come out as well. Why were they all out here watching? It usually grew a little warmer when it snowed, but today the temperature had dropped unusually low. Sitting outside, Encrid's lips turned blue. "Oof, my hands are shaking. One slip and I could cut off your ear."

That was Krais, still cutting his hair. "I can hear you."

"That's how hard I'm concentrating."

Krais devoted himself to the haircut, warming his hands on a moderately heated stone as he worked. Encrid watched the falling snow and thought about the spies.

'How did they get in?'

The man posing as a peddler had forged his identification tag, and the mixed-blood Fairy had sneaked in. Border Guard was harder to infiltrate than one might expect, and forging identification tags was a serious crime. Neither was an easy undertaking. Above all, it seemed odd that Jack, Bo, and Rotten had turned to spying.

'Where did they say those three came from?'

He thought he'd heard somewhere. "You know the three who died recently?"

Krais nodded at the question, then realized Encrid couldn't see him standing behind him and answered aloud.

"Yes, I do." "Know anything about their backgrounds?"

"Jack got caught picking pockets and was sent to serve. Bo was convicted of insulting a noble, I think."

"Sounds like a decent fellow."

Rem chimed in at the mention of insulting a noble. "Sure he was."

Encrid scoffed at Rem, who pretended not to hear. Krais continued. "Rotten said he'd been a guard for some trading company."

"Which one?"

"He said it went under a while ago. What was the name...?" All three had joined around the same time, roughly a year ago. As befitted an information source, Krais knew a great deal. 'If someone deliberately planted them here.'

An organization that could forge identification tags, knew the city's ways in and out like the back of its hand, and was well acquainted with crime. Could there be many such groups? There would be a few obvious candidates in Border Guard. And the largest among them... 'The thieves' guild.'

A guild in name only, it was a gathering of people involved in all kinds of crime. Besides, hadn't he heard they had undergone a complete change of personnel about a year ago? He had heard that somewhere. When he asked Krais, the man said those rumors had indeed circulated, but he hadn't been able to dig into the details. Encrid turned his gaze to Jaxon. "Know anything about the thieves' guild?"

It was an abrupt question. Jaxon looked at him in silence. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Thought you might know."

Why else? From throwing blades to sharpening the senses, Encrid had seen what he knew. Encrid could use his head. Even without deliberately trying, he could make a rough guess at Jaxon's background: thievery, assassination, or something along those lines. Naturally, he asked. Jaxon kept his mouth shut for a moment. Rem started to say something, but Encrid stopped him with a look. Ragna watched with his usual half-lidded eyes, while Audin stood quietly with his hands clasped, seemingly waiting for an answer. SNIP, SNIP.

Krais broke the silence as he finished cutting Encrid's hair. "I'd like to know too. You think the attempt on your life started there, Squad Leader?"

Krais was exceptionally perceptive. Anyone who had taken in what was happening firsthand might have become suspicious, especially someone who could use their head. Krais was quick-witted, and having scraped by among the lower classes, he would know a few things. He therefore considered Encrid's suspicions reasonable. At last, Jaxon spoke. Encrid had expected him to demand something in return, but he didn't.

"There was a complete turnover about a year ago. I know nothing about what happened afterward. All my contacts were cut off."

Worth looking into, Encrid thought. "All done."

Krais spoke soon afterward. During the haircut, the snow had begun falling thick and fast. "Ah, I really hate this."

"So do I."

"Agreed."

"Brothers, this is a trial sent by God."

"It's coming down so hard it's getting on my nerves."

Those were Rem, Ragna, Jaxon, Audin, and Krais, in that order, commenting on the falling snow. Watching them, Encrid spoke.

"I'm thinking of exercising my discretion as Squad Leader to plan an operation. We'd head straight out instead of clearing snow."

All five pricked up their ears. Ten pairs of eyes stared at him like hungry wolves. They looked ready to do anything as long as it didn't involve clearing snow. "I'll need the Company Commander's permission first."

Encrid brushed the loose hair from his face as he spoke. "Off you go."

"What are you still doing here?"

"This way."

They all urged him to hurry. Encrid decided he might as well act while the idea was fresh. He didn't want to return inside only to be hounded by those five murderous stares, either. He melted some of the snow that had already accumulated, washed the hair off his face, and went straight to the Company Commander's quarters. "You've cut your hair. What brings you here? Another ambush?"

Was that remark about the ambush a joke? Her words left Encrid wondering. "No, ma'am."

"Then?"

"I suspect the thieves' guild. I'd like to look into it." The Fairy Company Commander had private quarters. With her hands clasped behind her back, she watched the falling snow through the window and spoke.

"Meaning?"

"I'd like to undertake an operation on my own initiative."

"Hmm." Still looking out the window with her hands behind her back, she asked,

"This isn't because you don't want to clear snow?"

"No, ma'am."

That was half the truth, but the other half was true as well. He had nothing on his conscience. "Very well."

The Fairy Company Commander granted permission. "You'll have to be careful. The city's criminal guilds are very good at pleasing those above them."

She raised her right index finger toward the ceiling as she spoke. A military city had a Battalion Commander instead of a mayor, but the Battalion Commander wasn't its only authority. Several nobles had also been dispatched by the state to handle administration. They were the key figures of power in Border Guard. "You won't want to get on their bad side."

Politics, coming from a Fairy. It felt profoundly strange, but Encrid accepted the advice.

"Yes, ma'am." "Give the torch stand a wide berth on your way out. This is my room. I'd rather you didn't burn it down."

A short torch stand stood in her quarters, keeping the air pleasantly warm. "Yes, I'll be careful."

Even as he answered, Encrid thought he simply couldn't get used to the Fairy's jokes.