Chapter 542 - Now, Tell Us

"Tch, what a shame. Could've just left him there."

"Hmm. He survived."

"The Lord is not yet ready to welcome you, brother."

"Right. I forgot for a moment."

"His limbs are fine. If they haven't been cut off, they're fine."

"Humans aren't Frogs, are they? I hope you're all right, Sir Ragna."

Those were the sorts of things Ragna heard just before passing out. Thinking back, the last two voices seemed to belong to Luagarne and Roford. The one in the middle who said he'd forgotten must have been Encrid. The first would be the barbarian, followed by the alley cat.

Skipping the intervening steps in his reasoning, Ragna opened his eyes and said, "One hand is enough."

With the omitted words filled in, he meant that one hand would suffice even if all of them came at him together. In other words, they could come at him regardless of his injuries.

"There's no need to cut your arm off, though?"

He had thought he'd merely closed his eyes for a moment, but he was wrong. The ceiling was unfamiliar, and a woman he had never seen was staring at him. It was Ann, the self-proclaimed healer. She gazed at the blond Ragna as she spoke.

"Rest. For the next few days, you need to eat well, rest, and take your medicine regularly."

Her tone was firm and capable. Ragna nodded. His limbs were wrapped in layers of bandages, and they hurt, but he felt much better than before he collapsed.

"Where am I?"

"The treatment room, though it still leaves something to be desired. The people calling themselves medics in the barracks don't even know the basics of medicine. Half the alchemists making remedies swagger around with formulas they picked up by watching someone else. The other half cling to a few shoddy formulas and spout nonsense about family treasures passed down through generations. Still, there is one good thing. I only have to ask them to buy something, and it appears just like that."

Ann rattled on as she ground herbs and such in a wooden bowl.

Before the war began, Ann had been assigned to the medical unit. Encrid had entrusted her to Sinar, but Sinar could hardly look after her personally. And so Ann had found herself like a lone commoner at a party full of noble children.

What was it they called this sort of thing? There was something similar in an old tale. Wasn't it about a commoner woman with magic that transformed her at midnight, who fell in love with a prince and seduced him with a shoe? In one scene, the woman was so cruelly ostracized at the party that she grew furious and fought using her shoes as weapons. Afterward, people had begun saying that if you had no weapon at a party, you could fight with your shoes. Ann couldn't remember the details; it had simply come to mind.

Fortunately, though some people stared blankly at her, no one raped her or leered at her. Besides, two days were all she had to spend in that commoner's position.

["Who did you say you were?"]

["Ann."]

A man with large eyes had come looking for the girl the Captain had brought back and found her a place of her own. When he told her to ask for anything she needed, Ann nodded and spoke.

["A room to myself. Tools and equipment for my research. Books on alchemy too, if you can find any. And if there are any alchemists staying in the city, I'd like to meet them."]

At the audacious request, Krais asked just what she did. He sounded somewhat incredulous, of course, but Ann proudly declared that she was a healer. Then the big-eyed man began taking care of her with evident enthusiasm.

Krais was no fool. He knew perfectly well that most of the alchemists who had gathered in the city or come at his personal invitation were alchemists in name only. Even if half of them were frauds, he felt they were better than nothing, so he had focused on giving them modest support rather than driving them out. Support enough of these fellows, and real alchemists and researchers were bound to be drawn in too. You had to put out bait before a fish would eventually bite.

Even so, it left a sour taste in his mouth. It felt like taking a handful of silver coins and tossing them down a well for nothing. These damned alchemists ought to produce something if they were being paid, but every last one was lacking in some way. That was when Ann had appeared.

["A pupil of Raban the alchemist?"]

["Yes. My particular focus is developing remedies and treating illnesses..."]

["Understood."]

After that, Ann's daily life grew peaceful, and her needs were met. If she could ask for anything more, perhaps it would be an excellent teacher. Of course, that was asking too much. In terms of skill alone, alchemists of Raban's caliber could hardly be common. His potions, for instance, had been highly regarded.

Potions, remedies that worked immediately, were sometimes called an extra life across the continent. In fact, one was sold under the name Second Life.

These potions fell broadly into two categories. The first contained divine power and were sold exclusively by the Holy Nation. The second were made by a handful of alchemists who researched secret methods passed down through generations. Naturally, the former were both safer and more effective. They were simply expensive and available in limited numbers. A few of the latter kind were famous too. Those from well-known workshops, at least, sold well.

Raban had researched potions with Ann, so to Krais, she was someone capable of developing them. She could heal people, perform surgery, set bones, and do all sorts of other things, but her primary specialty was alchemy. Even if she turned out to be a fraud, faith was the foundation of investment. Krais brought her what she needed.

Before long, Ann had a private laboratory instead of a place in the Medical Barracks, with a treatment room to go with it. It was only natural that her skills had earned recognition. Even under Raban, she had often been called a genius.

It would have been wonderful if everyone with talent could seize an opportunity and grow like this, but of course that was not how things worked. Some would put their talents to use, while many others simply lived and died, talent or no talent. In that respect, Ann knew very well that she was fortunate. But her desire to study and research healing in pursuit of her dream was even greater, so there was still much she wanted.

With all of that on her mind, the words had spilled out when she saw Ragna. Aside from him, the only people seriously injured in this battle were a soldier with a twisted ankle and the lord. The Frog did not need her treatment, so that really was everyone.

The lord had left as soon as he had more or less recovered, saying the treatment room was stifling. The soldier with the twisted ankle had never needed to stay in the first place. That left Ragna as the only seriously wounded patient to wake in her care.

There were others with minor complaints like colds, but the whole city was celebrating now. It buzzed with talk of their great victory and the Iron Wall title. In other words, not a single soldier who wasn't seriously ill was staying in bed.

That was the situation, and Ann rather liked Ragna's looks, which was why she had poured out her story to him. After listening, he spoke with his languid eyes half open.

"I see."

Anyone could have heard the utter lack of interest in that answer.

"Ah, um, yes. That's right."

Ann was a little taken aback. Wasn't a man normally supposed to get excited when a woman as pretty as her showed interest? That was what she thought, but in truth, she had never experienced any romantic developments with the opposite sex. Everything she knew about relationships between men and women came from books.

She stared at Ragna's languid eyes and his unwashed, greasy blond hair. Cleaned up and properly dressed, he would look quite good. At the moment, his injuries had kept him from washing or eating, leaving even his skin dry and dull.

"My name is Ann."

"I see."

Having already lost interest, Ragna gave a perfunctory answer and closed his eyes. Watching him, Ann felt her heart thud.

What was this bastard's problem? Even if he hadn't fallen for her, wasn't it common courtesy to give his own name when she introduced herself? She nearly let loose the curses she had learned while studying under Raban and roaming the continent.

Ragna barely even registered the girl chattering in front of him. He kept his eyes closed. He had already seen the battle's outcome for himself, but quite apart from that, one particular scene had aroused his curiosity. Just before setting off for the allied position with his broken sword as a cane, he had seen what Encrid did.

'What was that?'

Intimidation had become a wall that stopped the enemy. It was a form of Will he had never seen in his life. Had his body been in even slightly better shape, he would have gone to ask at once. But Ragna knew, with sober clarity, that he was in no condition to do so. Now was the time to rest.

* * *

"Now, tell us."

The dim lamplight illuminated only half of Sinar's face, casting the rest in deep shadow.

"Was it Will?"

Encrid also saw someone sitting beside her, entirely in the dark. Jaxon, the Sneaky alley cat. Only his eyes gleamed in the darkness, his presence so faint that it would hardly be surprising if he vanished at any moment.

"Light a lamp, you sneaky bastard."

FWOOSH.

Rem, sitting opposite, held a candle to an unlit lamp. Once the lamps and brazier were lit, the room brightened considerably.

A bear demonic beast's hide hung to one side. Dried grass covered the floor beneath a gray carpet, and there was a wooden desk and an unusual bed built at head height against one wall. This was Sinar's room.

She had invited Encrid over to ask about the iron wall he had shown them, and the others had followed one after another. Not that the meeting place particularly mattered. Though Sinar called it her room, she did not spend much time here either.

"Be careful with fire."

Sinar spoke as she watched Rem light the lamp. Encrid didn't know why she was like that, but she was always vigilant about fire.

"Nobody here's going to die if the place catches fire."

Rem brushed it off, snorted, and nudged Encrid's elbow.

"Seriously, tell us. What did you do?"

"I am also curious about how you called my name, brother."

Audin added his own question after Rem's. Teresa, Roford, Pell, and Luagarne were there as well. In fact, Odd-Eyes was just outside the lodgings, and Encrid was stroking Esther's back. She was a panther, of course.

Esther purred. These days, she hardly ever went about in human form. Encrid wondered whether she had decided to identify as a panther altogether.

A quiet spell, then, perhaps? The war was over, and they had spent the day drinking and stuffing themselves with food. Along the way, he had also heard the nickname Iron Wall Sword going around. Did it sound a little better than Demon Killer, at least?

Amid those stray thoughts, Encrid answered their questions with a single word.

"What?"

"You know exactly what. You're a real master at playing innocent."

"What you did to earn the name Iron Wall."

"Did you not use some special ability when you called me, Brother Denier?"

Audin had a habit of coming up with all sorts of variations on his fraternal forms of address.

Encrid considered their questions together. Rem and several others who had reached knight level showed only curiosity, but Roford and Pell had a different look in their eyes. Luagarne in particular had claimed a seat with the determination to crawl here if necessary, despite missing a leg. Her eyes gleamed more like a Giant's than a Frog's, as though she had secreted so much oil it had filled her eyeballs.

Recalling the situation, Encrid said, "I put up a wall and mixed in intimidation."

The boiling Will, the heightened emotions, the sense of omnipotence that had burst forth as a result. He could not explain it in greater detail. All he had done was pour Will into it until it worked.

"Fuck, you call that an explanation?"

Rem sounded irritated. Who could make any sense of that?

"Hmm. That's all?"

Jaxon added his own remark.

Encrid possessed a composure rare even among knights. Yet now he felt anger, rather than Will, surging up inside him. They were criticizing his inability to explain? That bastard Rem and Jaxon, at least, had no right to talk.

"Brother, how did you call me?"

He had done something similar when calling Audin, releasing a burst of Will just as he had with the wall. How was he supposed to explain that?

"I shouted with Will in my voice."

Encrid chose a slightly more cautious tone.

"I see."

Audin smiled as he spoke, but his expression was a little stiff. The forced curve at the corners of his eyes lacked any life. His expression said much the same thing as Rem's criticism.

"I can't explain it any better than that," Encrid repeated.

Unwittingly, he had also come to understand how Rem, Jaxon, Ragna, Audin, and the others felt when explaining their techniques. You simply did it. Being asked to explain only left you at a loss. And now that he understood their feelings, he realized their attitude made sense too. So Encrid did the same.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Ha ha."

To his surprise, Sinar burst out laughing at that.

Roford and Pell looked deep in thought, while Luagarne began muttering with a dazed look in her eyes.

"What one can do with Will like Uske's... You cannot build a castle wall alone, but with enough strength, you could block the road with a great boulder."

In a sense, she had understood correctly. He had accomplished it through the sheer enormity of his innate Will.

"So I just spread Fear Infusion over them like Grime's wings?"

"Like setting up dozens of blades to threaten them."

"There is no need to hold several shields, Sister. You need only block the way with one. It would have to be quite large, thick, and sturdy, of course. Though Brother Captain's wall was a little soft."

Rem, Jaxon, and Audin spoke in turn, and Rem took up the thread again.

"That's true."

"The blades were rather dull."

Each had understood Encrid's words in their own way. This, in other words, was the realm of genius. Audin had even managed to explain it to Teresa in the process.

Encrid smiled and bestowed a blessing upon the people before him.

"You lot are like the offspring of four-legged demonic beasts with human faces."

Put more briefly, he had called them sons of human-faced dogs. It was a creative insult.

With that, Encrid rose from his seat. They had somehow ended up gathered here, but he had something to do this evening, and it was time to go. He had come to see Sinar about it in the first place, only for things to turn out like this. It was a commission from Nauril.

"Let's go, Jaxon."

"Yes."

He would not be going alone. Jaxon rose without a sound.

"Sinar?"

"My unshrivelled betrothed, who has given me laughter. Yes, let us go."

A title like that almost made Demon Killer preferable.

As the three stood, Rem also left, saying he was going to bed. Audin departed as well, saying it was time to pray. The others all got moving too.

Once they donned black cloaks on their way out, they looked for all the world like people skulking under cover of darkness.

"Suits you. Three alley cats?"

Rem mocked them as he left.

Had they just happened to dress in black for a late-night departure? It wasn't as though they could set out in flashy, jewel-studded armor. They had no business attracting monsters and demonic beasts that went wild for shiny things, or making their every movement plainly visible. This was a confidential commission, after all.

Encrid headed for the outskirts of the city with Jaxon and Sinar, in the direction of Green Pearl, to be precise. A carriage painted black awaited them there. Someone was already sitting inside. He waved a hand out the window.

When the three climbed aboard, the man, who had gone so far as to wear a mask to conceal his face, asked, "What do you think?"

Encrid answered casually.

"Suits you."

Soon the carriage set off. It was headed toward the border, toward Aspen.