CHAPTER 20

Between the tents, there is a torch stand.

And in the supply tent, there is oil.

He had been training for days, listening to sounds repeatedly.

He could find the location of anything around them even with their eyes closed.

"Just a moment."

It was really a simple task.

Using sound to identify the patrol guard's location and secretly retrieving oil from the supply tent.

He sprinkled the oil roughly around the tent.

The next part was even easier.

All he had to do was kick the torch stand, making it fall.

Since there shouldn't be any witnesses, he used the shadows as his companion, crawling in to pull the torch stand down.

The spark at the end of the torch stand met the oil with a whoosh- and greeted warmly with a big flame.

"That's quite a skill."

The company commander said indifferently.

Was this a compliment?

Encrid thought so as he set the tent on fire.

Naturally, the fire first caught where the oil was poured.

Encrid skillfully avoided the flames, smudging his face with soot and inhaling some smoke.

It's much easier to react genuinely than to fake it.

"Ah-cough!"

Coughing, Encrid carried the fallen freckled soldier, and exited through the tear in the tent where the company commander had entered, circling around to collapse in front of the infirmary.

This was sufficient.

"Fire!"

The fire was deliberately set to coincide with the patrol guard's timing.

No, it had to be that way.

The guy on guard duty in the next tent was a master of sleeping while standing.

He didn't wake up at all.

Encrid thought an assassin might have shot a poisoned dart at him too.

It didn't require any extraordinary preparation up to this point.

Stealing oil from the supply tent, which he already knew about.

All he had to do was knock over the torch stand.

But Krang and the company commander seemed quite impressed as they watched.

"Really, if you had joined a band of thieves, you would have easily become the leader."

Krang's words just before leaving lingered in his mind.

He wondered if that was supposed to be a compliment.

As he ran his hand through his hair, his curled hair tangled around his fingers.

'I guess I need a haircut too.'

Without even thinking about wiping the soot off his face, he lay down on the ground.

It wasn't a big fire. It wouldn't be a major incident.

No one had died.

He had a rough excuse ready for the guard duty.

'Ask tomorrow. Tomorrow.'

Without exaggeration, he just wanted to lie down and sleep as he was.

It had been a long night.

A very long day.

His headache had turned into a dull numbness in his head.

He didn't want to think about anything.

"Survivors?"

"It's over there. But, um, I think he just passed out."

Encrid knew the words were directed at him, but he ignored them and closed his eyes.

Fatigue overwhelmed him.

* * *

The freckled soldier who was on watch wasn't the one Encrid felt a one-sided sense of closeness with, but he still felt a certain bond.

"You don't know it, but."

Encrid had talked with him.

He knew where he was from.

He knew about the girlfriend he left behind.

He even knew why he joined the army.

Today was something Encrid had, but he didn't.

This created a sense of closeness.

Besides, the fire and the attack weren't his fault.

So, he gave him a suitable excuse.

As soon as the fire broke out, he shouted and tried to save those inside.

Then he inhaled the smoke and passed out.

He was a new recruit who had just finished training.

There wouldn't have been any training on how to handle tent fires.

It was a reason everyone could accept.

"Did I really do that?"

He was understandably confused since he had no memory of it.

"Looks like you lost your memory."

The supply company commander just accepted the explanation and moved on.

Encrid wondered if anyone might suspect him, but no one did.

He had crafted his excuse so perfectly that he thought someone might find it suspicious, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.

The supply company commander seemed relieved that the supply tent hadn't caught fire.

That was part of his plan, so things went as intended.

A new bright morning dawned.

Today wasn't a repetition.

Encrid woke up still feeling a headache.

But he was satisfied.

After all, he had gotten through another 'today'.

"You saved me?"

Having washed his face and body, changed his smoke-scented clothes, and roughly trimmed his hair with a dagger, Encrid set out.

Vengeance, sitting on a box of supplies, asked.

"I couldn't just let you burn to death in front of me."

At Encrid's words, Vengeance mumbled something.

After mumbling, he asked.

"…Why?"

Encrid wondered if this really needed a reason.

He didn't want to have a long conversation because of his still throbbing head.

"Because you're a comrade."

He said it without much thought.

Vengeance's expression hardened upon hearing this.

"Hmm."

Seeing his hardened expression, Encrid spoke,

"The flower of the battlefield is…"

"…The infantry."

It was a greeting from the infantry company.

With those words, Encrid turned his body.

He had just received orders to return.

"I was always so mean."

Vengeance's grumbling voice faintly brushed Encrid's ears from behind.

He could hear what normally would have gone unheard.

'Hearing training.'

Encrid reflected on the ability he had gained.

He also recalled the fairy company commander deflecting a sword to the side last night.

He remembered dodging the stab and the assassin's attack.

A question naturally arose.

'Am I still in the same place?'

It wasn't serious. He was just curious.

How different was he today compared to yesterday?

Suddenly, he felt like having a bout with Rem.

'But first.'

The priority was to return to the main barracks and get a good rest. His head was still throbbing.

"The weather is really nice."

After walking a few steps, Encrid noticed his shadow stretching long to his right.

He looked up at the sky and saw a clear, blue canvas.

Cotton clouds were scattered across it, the breeze was cool, and the sunlight was warm.

Today was an exceptionally clear day.

It felt like just walking would make his headache go away.

* * *

Krais appeared calm on the outside, but inside he was sighing heavily.

It had been exactly a week since Encrid had left.

'How did we manage back then?'

Krais's mind wandered away from the current situation before him.

He remembered the time when Encrid wasn't around.

"So, I'm the squad leader here. So, you all have to listen to me. So, that means gather in front of the barracks now."

The squad leader kept repeating "so."

He had an authoritarian attitude. And he died a terrible death in the first battle.

"Follow me!"

He seemed to have heard some strange rumors.

The troublemaking squad was few in number, but their skills were top-notch.

Did he really think they would meekly follow him?

He charged ahead alone and got his head impaled on a spear.

When his helmet flew back, Rem kicked it away with a back kick.

'The next Squad Leader.'

"I heard you guys are good fighters, so how about a skills test? Anyone want to spar with me?"

He was said to be the son of a noble. He was serving as a soldier because of some crime.

He mentioned he would roll around here for a few months and then return.

That nobleman was confident but inexperienced.

"Can we really spar with the squad leader?"

Rem scratched his head as he asked.

"Hmm, not you. Yeah, you, come out. The red-haired guy."

He chose Jaxon as his opponent.

Anyone could tell Rem was a thug just by looking at him, so he looked like he could fight.

Calling Krais would have been too unreasonable.

Jaxon must have seemed like the easiest target.

Of course, it was a big mistake.

"Me?"

"Yeah, come out. Let's have a match. Ha ha, I've never lost before."

"What if someone gets hurt while sparring?"

"A man afraid of that? It's all part of the game!"

The arrogant and cocky noble squad leader.

"Aaagh!"

His forearm broke.

"I thought he would obviously dodge."

Jaxon, who was usually easygoing, sometimes became quite a madman.

It was Rem and the other squad members who provoked Jaxon as he casually dealt with the noble.

"You should have stepped forward with your left foot there."

"That's funny, you could have just tripped him up and knocked him down."

"You're not gripping your sword tightly enough. Grip harder. If you underestimate your opponent, you'll get hurt."

"Tsk, you're such a weakling that you can't even knock down a woman. I would've finished this a long time ago. Ah, boring."

Those words made Jaxon turn fierce.

The company commander got furious at Jaxon for breaking the noble squad leader's arm.

"Assaulting a superior officer?"

"I explicitly said it was part of the fight."

"Yeah, yeah. A man who breaks his word isn't a real man."

"One mouth, many changing words. Ah, the sinner is repenting."

With each squad member throwing in a comment, the company commander couldn't say much.

The truth was the truth.

The fight had been agreed upon as being off the record.

Naturally, the noble squad leader withdrew.

In his family, he might have had plenty of paid swordsmen willing to lose to him, but this was the battlefield.

The company commander never seemed to have any intention of taking the noble squad leader into actual combat.

He was just given the title of squad leader.

'The next squad leader was no different.'

They were all pretty much the same.

The squad leader, who often got furious, had a quiet conversation with Rem outside and then quietly requested a transfer without any further fuss.

Others also left for similar reasons.

Those who stayed merely coexisted like indifferent cows and chickens.

"Sigh."

Krais turned his head at the sound of a sigh behind him.

"Finally."

He muttered in relief as he saw the familiar face.

"What happened to you?"

It was Encrid. He approached, pressing his temples with his right index finger.

Encrid looked at the two facing off in front of the 4th Squad barracks.

This was the reality Krais had been avoiding.

"Without a squad leader, I'm practically the acting leader, so do as I say. Ragna, the squad member?"

"Don't call my name. Address me with respect, you barbarian."

"Huh, has this picky eater wrapped himself in a noble shell?"

"It's just unpleasant for an uncivilized beast to call my name."

"Oh, really? Maybe you need a savage beating to get your head straight?"

Rem's hand bulged with veins, ready to swing his axe and split Ragna's head.

The squad member called Ragna faced him nonchalantly, standing casually with his hands at his sides.

This was Ragna's ready stance.

Jaxon watched indifferently, while another squad member quietly prayed, trying to mediate.

"Brother, fighting and violence are bad."

"Step aside, religious zealot."

"Move back. A sword knows no eyes."

Rem and Ragna answered simultaneously.

'What a mess this squad is in.'

This chaos after just one week.

The headache that had subsided returned.

"Krais, got any spare medicine?"

Jaxon, indifferent to the fight, asked Krais while nodding at Encrid.

"Not right now. Squad Leader, you're back. I was going to look for you. We've had some issues."

Krais shook his head at Jaxon and turned to Encrid.

"Just a moment."

First, I have to stop these two.

If left unchecked, it looked like it would really turn bloody.

It was like this on the day he arrived too.

Back then, the opponent wasn't Ragna but the praying squad member.

"There are many things that cannot be resolved through fighting and violence."

Even the guy saying that isn't normal.

"Hey!"

Ignoring his throbbing headache, Encrid stepped in to break up the fight.

The way to stop their fights was simple.

Words wouldn't work.

He had to physically get between them.

Encrid walked between the two.

"Really, they say ignorance is bold, huh? You're here?"

Rem muttered. The veins on the back of his hand twitched and then stopped.

"Well, I can't just cut through both of you. Squad leader, um, never mind."

Both Rem and Ragna backed off, though not without exchanging parting shots.

"Don't die on the battlefield, because I want to be the one to kill you."

Ragna said.

"Huh? What? Want to die tomorrow? You're just dying to taste my axe?"

Rem retorted.

"That's enough," Encrid said.

Encrid shook his head in the middle of the two.

Why do they dislike each other so much?

He didn't know. It had been this way from the start.

Both were still glaring at each other.

Geez, the first thing he saw upon returning was a fight.

"Anyway, all sorts of things happened while you were gone, Squad Leader," Krais spoke up from behind.

"Really?"

It was obvious.

When he was in the infirmary, Ragna had said the barracks were a mess, and he was right.

He had somewhat expected it.

It was fine.

After dealing with so many harsh situations, the trouble these guys caused didn't bother him at all.

Not organizing meal duty, so everyone had to fend for themselves.

Getting into a fight with the squad member from the next tent and punching him in the jaw.

Ignoring the squad leader's call.

'Is it too chaotic just because I'm gone?'

He had thought about it, but it was really okay.

Krais continued to chatter.

Encrid realized the chaos wasn't limited to the troublemaker squad.

"A curse?"

Encrid asked, forgetting his throbbing headache.

"Yes, they say the whole camp is cursed."

What kind of nonsense is this?

It was absurd enough to make him forget his headache.