Chapter 135 - A Ripened Heart (2)

"Here."

Rem started, regardless of who was watching.

It was right in front of the barracks, not in a corner or a nook, but dead in the center.

Rem grabbed Encrid's wrist, placed it over his own heart, and twisted his lips.

How to describe it?

The smile itself was filled with a mischievous playfulness.

Then he began to whisper to Encrid.

It was at a volume that he wouldn't have been able to hear properly before training his hearing with Jaxon.

Conveying what he wanted to say this quietly was a talent in its own right.

It seemed like he was ignoring the surrounding gazes, but was this his plan all along?

"What you need is belief. After that, you explode your heart. If the heart of the beast has ripened, try bursting your heart to the extent that it won't break."

Keeping his mouth shut regarding the fact that a shamanic effect was taking place, Rem only spat out the necessary words.

Encrid did as he was told.

If he hadn't trusted Rem in the first place, he wouldn't have even been able to attach the heart of the beast to his body.

Rem really liked that about him as well.

There was sincerity in Encrid's attitude, answers, and actions.

The kind of sincerity that always did its absolute best.

However, if he went about it that way this time as well, he would end up ruining everything.

"You'll have to do it slowly."

Rem's warning was like a sharp blade. An unprecedented seriousness lingered in his tone.

A seriousness completely different from his mischievous playfulness.

That left a deep impression on Encrid.

It meant that it was quite dangerous.

So he made his heart beat slowly.

But was it possible to move a heart according to one's will?

It was then.

Beyond his palm, he started to feel Rem's heart beating.

*THUMP! THUMP! * It was explosive. It felt as if the energy lingering within the heart was vividly crossing over into Encrid's hand.

"Try doing the exact same thing. Just at about a quarter of the intensity."

Was this it? Encrid waited for that sensation. The sensation of making the heart beat, that is.

It couldn't be explained with words. It couldn't be expressed through actions, either.

Rem simply demonstrating it with his own body and passing it on was all there was to it.

It should be described entirely as the realm of feeling.

Therefore.

"Looks like my worries were unfounded."

Rem muttered.

Should this be called a matter of course?

"Just one more time."

Encrid said.

After that, Encrid and Rem stood frozen with their palms placed near each other's hearts.

Until the sun passed its zenith and began to slant.

"I'm saying this because I'm genuinely curious, but sometimes I get the thought that you're doing this on purpose. Am I mistaken?"

"Hmm."

Encrid let out a short groan.

"I agree with that too."

Ragna agreed from the side.

"I also find that hard to deny. Crazy brother."

"Agreed."

Audin and Jaxon also nodded.

Hearing that it was on purpose made him feel a bit wronged.

"It's not that you can do it but aren't, it's that you actually can't, right?"

Rem asked. He was serious. Encrid also harbored a sincere gravity.

"Yeah."

"... Well, damn, alright. Let's do it again tomorrow."

Before they knew it, it was evening.

Thanks to the consideration of the Battalion Commander and the surrounding soldiers, they hadn't even had to take a turn with meal duties. They were naturally exempt from guard duty as well.

Because of that, they were able to continue dedicating themselves to conditioning and training.

Encrid had not made even the slightest bit of progress. He hadn't taken a single step forward, let alone half a step. At least, that was what Rem thought.

"What are you doing?"

"Is this what you're doing right now? You're not just messing with me?"

"Come on, try it. I said try it now, didn't I?"

He only heard similar words from Rem.

He couldn't get a feel for it. Not at all. Did that make it a problem?

No, it wasn't a problem.

When had he ever learned a technique just by seeing it once?

Previously, when he repeated a single day and trained his left hand, he had once felt something akin to talent.

It was as if talent had descended upon him.

For just that moment, he could feel something with his body.

That moment when the techniques he wielded with his left hand stuck to his body like never before, that short time, that time when euphoria welled up.

Did he feel regretful remembering that time?

Honestly, not at all, completely not at all.

He would just repeat it over and over, and think it over and over.

He was busy just thinking about it.

"The Battalion Commander is calling."

It was a day where he just continued to agonize over it, same as any other. A day where making the heart of the beast ripen and burst wasn't coming easily.

In terms of time, it was the third day since they established the encampment.

Only then did the Battalion Commander summon Encrid.

Back on the battlefield when they were calling him a decorated hero and all that, he acted like he was going to summon him immediately.

It seemed he had only just finished sorting out his surroundings.

According to Krais, could this be considered natural?

He said Marcus must have burned inside while relocating the base and establishing the new encampment.

When asked why, Krais's tongue grew long again.

To summarize, it was simple.

"If the enemy realizes we're just standing around with our hands up, they'll end up ignoring us, so we have to at least pretend to move so they can't ignore us. If it were me, hmm, never mind."

He seemed to have some thoughts, but Krais spared his words.

Encrid didn't pry any further and started moving. If he wanted to say it, wouldn't he just open his mouth on his own?

It was also time to step up first for the supreme commander's summons.

The adjutant came to fetch him personally, and on the way to the barracks, the Fairy Company Commander joined them.

Approaching with steps so light they didn't even make a sound, the company commander pulled up beside him and opened her mouth.

"When was our engagement ceremony again?"

She was doing this again; he truly couldn't understand a fairy's jokes.

"Let's promise to do it 10 years from now."

"Hmm, not bad. But I prefer young humans over old humans."

Wouldn't Encrid's taste have to lean toward fairies in the first place for a relationship to happen?

It was a non-human beauty, sure.

Non-human; because she didn't seem human, it really didn't seem like a face he could grow attached to.

Her green eyes shining like jewels between long, slender eyelashes, her blonde hair scattering pale hues, and her skin revealed through the sunlight-reflecting hair did look as if it were glowing.

That was why it was a non-human beauty.

"Let's go."

Encrid admitted defeat. If she made up her mind to latch on, this was a wordplay that could go on endlessly.

He thought it was exhausting.

The Fairy Company Commander also seemed to enjoy teasing him exactly to this extent.

To be honest, it wasn't even that uncomfortable.

She was just this kind of person.

She was more normal than Rem, but couldn't there be fairies among the fairy race who were half crazy?

"Let's."

With the adjutant leading the way and the Fairy Company Commander on his left, Encrid entered the barracks.

"You're here."

Battalion Commander Marcus was there.

Perhaps because he had been rolling around the battlefield, his beard had grown out messily.

Seeing that, Encrid remembered that his own chin had become quite prickly.

Thinking that he should shave when he got back, he offered a military salute.

It was a gesture of pressing down on the sword's hilt and bowing his head.

"Right."

Marcus roughly nodded his head.

The three of them stood in one place.

"Bring us some tea."

He ordered his adjutant, and soon three cups of tea were placed in front of them.

He couldn't call it a premium product even if it killed him, but this was a battlefield, so drinking tea itself was indulging in luxury.

"I usually get annoyed because I can't drink good tea when I head into battle, but this time, even this is satisfying."

Battalion Commander Marcus opened his mouth first.

They hadn't set out any places to sit, so they remained standing around the table used to discuss strategy and tactics.

"How about it, working properly under my command."

It was when he had swallowed half a sip of tea. The Battalion Commander, who had been rambling on his own, abruptly made a proposal.

The Fairy Company Commander silently kept her mouth shut.

Encrid looked at the Battalion Commander and weighed his words on how to answer, but soon gave up.

Since when did he roll his tongue to look good for a superior officer?

"I will decline."

"Why? I consider myself a pretty solid connection."

He wasn't wrong. When he said he was going to meet the Battalion Commander, hadn't Krais roughly explained the situation to him?

Starting from why he had called him late, all the way to the words that would currently come out of his mouth.

He did feel that it bordered on the level of a fortune teller.

How was everything flowing exactly as Krais had said?

"He'll probably propose that you come under him. He'll likely call our Company Commander along too, while he's at it. Why call her? It's basically saying he'll officially take you in and raise you, something like that, right? Why is he targeting you, Captain? Are you really asking because you don't know?"

Krais stopped mid-sentence and gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Does this human really not know?'

In the end, as Encrid only stared blankly at him, Krais spoke in a dumbfounded tone.

"What did you do at Cross Guard?"

"I fought. Infiltrated too, set some fires while I was at it. Gathered some intelligence on the way back."

"Even if we assume they don't know about the Frog, what did you do at the rear base?"

"I fought. I even killed the captain of the detached force that struck our rear."

"And what did you do after coming to the front lines?"

"I fought, why are you asking when you saw it yourself from the side?"

Krais had somehow ended up following him around closely, so he had seen it too.

"The Battalion Commander knows too."

"What?"

"I'm saying the Battalion Commander knows too. All the fights you've fought so far, Captain. So, if he knows that, how would he feel? Would he be greedy for you, or not?"

If that were the case, he felt it would be more appropriate for him to be greedy for Rem or the others, but Encrid quickly agreed with Krais's words.

It was something he could also easily figure out.

Rem and the other platoon members were uncontrollable.

But wasn't he a completely normal person?

The reason he noticed so late was obvious.

It was because he had been distracted by the task of making the heart of the beast beat anew.

He had poured all his mental energy entirely into training and conditioning.

Thanks to that, he hadn't thought of it at all, but because Krais had brought it up appropriately, there was no reason to panic.

"You seem to have expected this."

The Battalion Commander said. Brushing off his brief thoughts, Encrid opened his mouth.

"To some extent, yes, I did."

"May I ask the reason for your refusal?"

If he bluntly stated the reason here, would he make him turn back without even finishing his tea?

Drinking the warm tea was making him feel a little better, though.

In other words, after being completely absorbed in the heart for several days, he felt like he was taking a break.

'Come to think of it, I've finally just managed to relax my shoulders.'

Hadn't he just started tensing up again?

That thought occurred to him.

Could his obsession with needing to learn have become a chain binding him? Could it have become a shackle preventing him from moving forward?

RATTLE.

It was after he felt a sensation in his imagery, inside his mind, as if chains were crumbling and scattering.

It was only for a few seconds, but Encrid was able to open his mouth with a heart several times lighter than before.

SLURP.

He took a sip of tea.

He lifted his head straight up.

Just because his heart was light didn't mean the words he would spit from his mouth would be light.

Battalion Commander Marcus's proposal was an unmissable, incredibly good opportunity if he aimed for the top in the military.

Especially if he was in a position where he had started as nothing but a lowly soldier with nothing to his name.

Encrid's situation was precisely that.

Yet he spoke of refusal.

"I have a dream."

Something he harbored in his heart, even if someone were to listen and laugh.

A dream he had never forgotten since taking up the sword.

A dream that had blossomed into fruit using his burning desire as nourishment.

He had opened his mouth and spoken of it countless times, but it probably never carried as much weight as it did now.

It had been stained with mockery, torn by disregard, faded by sarcasm, and ultimately gnawed away until only shredded remnants remained.

Now, those remnants were clearly proving his worth.

Telling him that every day, it had been walking alongside his every step.

"I intend to become a knight."

And so, Encrid's mouth opened.

At that moment, Marcus saw an illusion.

*TINGLE! * Goosebumps erupted all over his body, and he saw a different background behind Encrid.

A battlefield, a sword, and something shining.

'What is this?'

A single word delivered with utter sincerity and full strength.

Not merely a refusal, but the word of someone forging forward.

There used to be something similar in Marcus's heart. Something he had already given up on in his youth.

What had his life originally been like?

He had wanted to become a sword for the royal family.

What was his life like now?

GRIND.

Marcus ground his molars without realizing it. His jaw muscles tightened severely, making his head throb.

Seeing a dream so pure that it emitted light, he felt as if he was the one being questioned instead.

'Do I truly have the right to command this man?'

Hadn't his offer been tossed out with the vulgar desire of climbing higher, obtaining a higher position, and securing more power?

There was no genuine loyalty either.

He didn't have a dream of aiming higher, either.

It made no sense to take in a person like that while remaining complacent with today.

That brief realization opened Marcus's mouth against his will.

"Hah."

A sigh. Something overflowing with emotion slipped out.

Because fairies specialized in sensitivity, the Fairy Company Commander understood the meaning of the sigh that came from Marcus's mouth.

'With a single word?'

A human's state of mind was like waves whipped by a typhoon.

They couldn't be constant like a fairy. Humans were fickle creatures who would whimsically change what had been decided.

The heart of the human currently called the Battalion Commander seemed to be just like that.

A sailboat precariously riding the waves, unable to even catch its bearings, like a ship that had met a storm.

And then.

"I will walk the path to becoming a knight."

With those words, Encrid gave a military salute.

Seeing that, Marcus reflexively nodded his head.

Encrid stepped outside.

The Fairy Company Commander worried that Marcus might harbor envy or jealousy and do something strange.

Because humans could change like that.

"Hoo."

Marcus let out a deep sigh and stood there with his brow furrowed for a long while.

It was around the time the tea in his hand went cold.

Without even being conscious of the Fairy Company Commander guarding his side, he let out a second short sigh—*hah*—and chuckled.

"My word."

The Fairy Company Commander sensed a laugh from the Battalion Commander's words that seemed to have resolved something.

He was indeed showing a refreshing smile.

Then he asked abruptly.

"What do you think? Will he become a knight?"

"I do not know. That is up to him."

"They do say fairies have a way of speaking things straightforwardly."

Because it was said that fairies weaponized the truth when speaking, rather than hiding it.

"My blood is boiling for the first time in a long while."

Marcus muttered.

What would happen when his blood boiled?

Marcus was nominally and virtually a member of the noble faction.

Naurilia claimed to be a centralized state, but it was said to be a nation that had some of its power usurped by the nobles.

Because their national power was scattered like that, they were struggling in their fight against the Principality of Aspen.

"Aren't you leaving?"

"I am going."

After the Fairy Company Commander left, Marcus walked over to where the chair was and sat down.

His back was drenched in sweat just from a few words.

He felt like shit, but also good at the same time.

And his decision was made.

'He's going to become a knight?'

He couldn't laugh. How could he mock the dream of someone speaking with such sincere, heartfelt conviction?

He had only been stimulated by it.

'Alright. Then I...'

Instead of the damn noble faction, let's try moving toward something truly new.

It was something he had been agonizing over for quite a long time.

The forked road lying before him.

The crossroads of a milestone he had yet to choose.

Marcus's hand went into his inner pocket and came back out.

A single letter was held in his hand.

A letter he had received quite a long time ago but had ignored.

A trace of the past that he hadn't been able to bring himself to throw away.

"Alright."

Marcus's eyes shone as he gripped the letter.

It was the kind of eyes he had shown in his youth. Eyes burning with passion.

At the edge of the unfolded letter, the royal family's seal briefly caught the eye.