CHAPTER 152

As Asia was on her way back, she found it a bit peculiar.

'It seems to be the first time.'

A guy who managed to hold his ground without knowing how to wield the power of a Knight.

It wasn't that he overcame the 'pressure'. He just endured it.

Actually, upon reflection, he even took half a step forward.

She was a junior Knight, with sharp eyes that could catch even the smallest movements of an opponent.

He was trying to move forward. Advance.

How many soldiers could do that?

Are there any?

It doesn't seem likely.

'Well, if he realizes it, he might become a monster of a guy.'

But that's not an easy thing.

'Let's not bother with it.'

With that Frog guy left, he'd take care of it.

She had been asked and had done what she needed to do.

So, once she returned, it was over.

Asia forgot about Encrid in that way.

There was no need to remember him.

She did like his spirit and determination.

Especially his face, she liked that too.

'But we probably won't see each other again.'

Talent is indeed merciless.

The Goddess of luck was always unfair.

Clip-clop.

The horse she rode on kicked the ground with its hooves, moving forward. It was time to go back.

* * *

'Why?'

Vengeance felt unnecessarily anxious and uneasy.

A Knight had come to see Encrid. They assessed his skills, and even the talent assessor Frog came.

The result was harsh words exchanged.

'Why to this extent?'

Did they want him to lose his motivation? Was it unpleasant to see him so dedicated to his training?

It was hard to guess what was going on in Battalion Commander Marcus's mind.

Why did they have to stir up Encrid, who was minding his own business?

That he couldn't become a Knight, that his limits were clear, and so he should quit?

Why? For what reason?

Vengeance didn't know Encrid's dream. He didn't know about the conversation between Encrid and Battalion Commander Marcus.

So, of course, he had questions.

Encrid had never hidden his faded dream, but that didn't mean he went around shouting it into people's ears.

"That Battalion Commander guy, he's got a bad personality."

Vengeance cursed Marcus for no reason as he headed towards Encrid's quarters.

Knock, knock.

"It's me, Vengeance."

"Oh? The ugly Platoon leader, what's up?"

As he knocked, Rem came out, turning the situation upside down.

He should have ignored it. Talking to him would just provoke a confrontation.

Then, the result? For Encrid, it would just end with a knee to the thigh, but with Rem, it was hard to imagine. The conclusion was that he shouldn't provoke him.

"Where's Enki?"

"Sleeping."

"Wasn't he supposed to be unconscious rather than sleeping?"

But this guy is so calm.

I thought he'd go on about how he was going to chop off Marcus's head with an axe to break his Platoon leader's spirit.

Well, if he were going to get that excited and angry in the quarters, he would have already swung the axe by now.

That's the kind of guy he is.

As he entered, the guy named Ragna was asleep again.

Vengeance looked to see if he was really sleeping, and he was in a deep sleep. He wasn't snoring, but his chest was rising and falling with steady breaths.

Jaxon was off to the side, rolling some tobacco leaves.

How diligent.

He heard a woman named Finn had joined them, but she wasn't there.

Krais was also absent.

The only one present from the morning watch was Frog.

It was almost noon, so they might have settled here permanently.

Their calmness felt oddly unfamiliar.

Shouldn't they comfort him when he wakes up?

Or maybe not mention it at all.

Were they planning to just gloss over the incident?

As Vengeance coughed to clear his throat, Encrid woke up at just the right moment.

Encrid opened his eyes and started to get up.

"Oh, you're awake."

Vengeance was the first to respond.

And then,

"They say you can't become a Knight. Not even a tiny bit of potential, not even as much as a ghoul's brain."

Rem spat out quickly.

"Brother, you're up? Have some of this."

Audin, standing nearby, offered him some bread.

Where he got it from, he didn't know, but it looked white and moist.

He had heard that a good bakery had recently opened in the city, so maybe he bought it from there.

But isn't this the wrong time for such talk?

Ragna continued sleeping.

Jaxon carefully packed the rolled tobacco leaves into a leather pouch.

"Hmm, okay."

Encrid responded calmly. He answered nonchalantly and took a bite of the bread before heading outside.

Frog, watching silently, finally spoke.

"They said you can't become a Knight. Are you alright with that?"

Encrid turned his head back and nodded. He nodded his chin up and down.

"Yes, well."

Not knowing his exact status, but if he came with a junior Knight, he must at least be a member of the Order.

And if Frog was acting as a talent assessor, he likely held a rank equivalent to a noble.

Encrid thought and spoke.

He showed no sign of being shocked.

Vengeance, who had somehow ended up standing in the doorway, blinked as he looked at Encrid.

"Revenge for last night's sparring?"

Encrid asked.

"No, that's not it."

The words 'I'm worried about you' didn't come out easily.

"What, ugly Platoon leader, are you here for revenge? Then go ahead and try."

Rem teased, but Vengeance didn't take the bait.

Hadn't he already tried?

The bruise on his thigh hadn't even faded yet.

Encrid walked outside.

Vengeance, watching him with a dazed look, turned around.

"Are you not going to comfort him or anything?"

Vengeance asked as he looked at Encrid's back.

Even if not comfort, what about some concern?

What if he decides to give up on the sword?

What if he decides to quit?

What if he gives up?

What if he gets discouraged just because they stirred him up about not having any talent?

Vengeance knew this situation was ridiculous.

Who was he to be getting involved in this?

What did it matter if Encrid quit or not?

He was just bothered by the situation he happened to witness.

No one had told him to intervene, and it wasn't something he had calculated.

It just felt that way in his heart.

He couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Rem chuckled at Vengeance's words.

That laugh, it was like usual. It wasn't a fake laugh.

"Who are you trying to comfort? The Platoon leader?"

Rem and...

"Haha, brother, you don't really know our Platoon leader, do you?"

... Audin.

"The Platoon leader is just the Platoon leader."

Even Jaxon added.

"Haah, the Platoon leader?"

Ragna, who had just woken up, asked nonchalantly. Vengeance reflexively pointed outside with his finger.

"He went out. Training?"

How should I know? Ragna didn't wait for an answer, cracking his neck left and right before grabbing his sword and moving out.

Vengeance stepped aside again. Ragna left without a word.

What was this?

He felt subtly ignored.

"The Platoon leader will be fine."

Rem continued.

Frog responded to that.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Experience."

After a brief exchange, Frog got up from his seat.

Experience, meaning you know when you've gone through it.

So, he figured he'd just go outside and see for himself.

To see how Encrid was actually handling it.

Ragna went out, and Frog followed shortly after.

Vengeance felt conflicted.

Does he really not care about hearing such things?

"What was our Platoon leader's skill level before? Does his current level make sense? What do you think, ugly Platoon leader?"

Rem's voice continued. He was lounging on his bed, seemingly about to poke at Esther for no reason.

Esther revealed her claws, swiping at Rem, who quickly pulled his hand back to avoid it.

Esther's blue eyes looked at Rem. He smiled, showing his palms as if to say he'd stop fooling around.

Watching this, Vengeance responded with whatever came to mind and turned away.

'Must be nice to be good-looking, you bastard.'

It was something like that.

Why does he keep nagging about me being ugly?

Seeing Rem made him feel a bit indignant.

How could someone be so skilled and also look like that?

Ah, there's one good thing.

He has quite an unusual personality, doesn't he? There's a reason they call him the Mad Platoon leader.

Personality-wise, I'm definitely better.

The world just doesn't know it.

As Vengeance turned and headed back to his quarters, many thoughts ran through his mind.

Especially the last words Rem said stuck in his ears.

"What was our Platoon leader's skill level before? Does his current level make sense? What do you think, ugly Platoon leader?"

Step by step.

It doesn't make sense.

No matter how he thinks about it, it doesn't make sense.

Especially the rate of improvement.

What was Encrid like originally? He was a pitiful fool who thrashed around in place even after swinging his sword every day.

"If it were me, I would've retired long ago."

Some soldiers watching would say things like that.

Vengeance remembered hearing such remarks.

There were quite a few who openly criticized Encrid back then.

"How did that idiot become a Squad leader? It's insane, it's like he's a lucky break."

Some even said things that made his disgust surge.

At that time, Vengeance didn't like Encrid either.

"Is it really insane for someone who doesn't have the guts to swing a sword every day to criticize others for no reason? Crazy bastard."

What did he do to that guy?

Yeah, he completely wrecked him.

It was just because he didn't like it, not him, not what he said, and not even Encrid, with his stubbornness in swinging his sword every day.

There were many who cursed Encrid back then.

One of them happened to be in front of him now.

"Hey, you."

The soldier approached at the call.

"Yes, Platoon leader."

"Do you think Encrid's current skill level makes sense?"

"...What?"

"I mean, his skills."

"Uh, well, they've improved."

Now, the soldier who once cursed Encrid had mixed feelings in his eyes.

Admiration and passion.

"Why do you think he's improved?"

"What?"

'What is this idiot thinking?'

Vengeance read that sentiment in the soldier's expression and shook his head.

"Never mind."

Vengeance dismissed him and thought.

There was really only one reason.

That daily persistence, what made that persistence possible?

"He doesn't know how to give up."

He doesn't know despair or hopelessness. The reason he couldn't hate Encrid despite disliking him? It was the same.

Both for the reasons he disliked and liked him.

He doesn't turn away. He doesn't retreat. He moves forward, envisioning the future. He dreams. He advances for the sake of his life.

A person who shines because of that.

A person who attracts light because of that.

"Damn it."

Vengeance suddenly felt the urge to swing his sword. Next time they sparred, he wanted to last a bit longer. He wanted to make that his goal.

So Vengeance set aside his worries and swung his sword. It was time for training. He joined in the whirlwind of training sweeping through the unit.

* * *

The first thought that came to Encrid's mind as soon as he woke up was this:

"Training."

He had completely missed the morning training.

Today, there was especially a lot to do.

Starting with the Isolation Technique, the Sense of Evasion, The Heart of the Beast, Focus Point, the Heart of Great Strength, Blade Sense, Valaf-style Martial Arts, and basic sword training.

"Since I missed the morning training, I'll push the morning tasks to the afternoon."

He decided to reduce his rest time. He knew how important rest was, but this was a special situation.

Having fainted in the morning, he had lost time.

For now, he put aside questions about what tricks Junior Knight Asia might have pulled.

He had to do his tasks first.

The daily routine.

The start of training that should never be forgotten.

As he opened his eyes, he heard strange things like he couldn't become a Knight.

He wondered why Vengeance was there.

He chewed on the bread Audin gave him and headed to the training ground, starting to repeat his techniques.

"Phew."

It didn't take long for him to sweat profusely. His undergarments were soaked quickly.

Despite having fainted earlier, his head wasn't heavy, and he didn't feel pain anywhere.

At that moment, it felt like he was about to die.

He focused on training, but his thoughts continued.

Handling two swords had made him accustomed to doing multiple things at once.

'What exactly was that?'

He could now create an aura. He had even immobilized a cat just by staring at it.

But he couldn't show his opponent an invisible illusion.

However, Encrid saw such an illusion.

A storm of blades, countless blades.

A storm of blades that he couldn't take a single step forward into.

A compulsion that made him feel like he would die if he didn't retreat.

It was both a suggestion and a coercion.

It was as if Asia's blade was saying that.

Had his opponent even drawn their sword then?

It didn't seem like it.

"Phew."

He exhaled deeply and steadied his breathing.

Training, training, training once more.

It was around the time he finished the delayed morning training.

"They said you can't become a Knight. Doesn't that shock you?"

It was Frog, who approached him briskly.

"Shock?"

Shock? What shock?

He asked back with genuine confusion.

"Well, well."

Frog scratched his nose with his thick fingers.

"You're an interesting guy."

Frog said, followed by Ragna approaching from behind.

"What did you see?"

Encrid's gaze turned to Ragna.

Ragna walked over and raised his sword, holding it vertically in front of his face.

The blade covered half of his face, reflecting a hazy image of his features.

It was still too early to call it evening, with the sunlight gently illuminating the surroundings.

In the midst of the slowly setting sun, there stood Ragna.

As Encrid stopped swinging his sword to look at him, Ragna spoke again.

"What makes a Knight different?"

Ragna's words didn't sound like a question.

Encrid took a listening stance.

Whether Frog was listening or not, he didn't care.

What had the Knight shown?

What Ragna was saying was something Encrid wanted to know.

He had intended to ask after training, but Ragna spoke first.

It was time to listen.

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