Chapter 68 - I Dreamed of Holding a Woman (1)

WHOOSH.

The world spun around.

When he hit the floor back-first with a thud, the breath was knocked out of him.

"If I slam you down a little harder, your ribs and organs will be damaged."

As he endured the pain and furrowed his brow, the Company Commander's instrument-like voice rang out above him.

"Stop?"

"One more time."

If he could, Encrid wanted nothing more than to repeat this even if his throat were cut by the Nidle.

He knew he was no match for her.

Rem had once glanced at the Fairy Company Commander and said something.

"That one is practically a monster too."

Then came Ragna's assessment.

"She's the best among the Company Commanders."

Audin had added as well.

"Her body is well made."

Knowing he was no match for her changed nothing, so Encrid gripped his sword with both hands.

"Here I come."

The Fairy Company Commander was the same as always.

Her voice was flat and emotionless as the Nidle curved in.

The Nidle, a sword made by the Fairy race, was a sword that slashed as though bending, then at some point became a point and thrust.

A moment ago, he had allowed her to close the distance while trying to avoid the thrust.

This time, he pulled his foot back and struck upward with his longsword.

In terms of strength, he definitely had the advantage.

If he struck upward from below and knocked away the Nidle, an opening would appear.

He drew the course of the fight in his head.

It was combat prediction that had formed naturally thanks to countless real battles, and real battles where his life had been on the line at that.

He predicted his opponent's reaction and prepared accordingly.

For those who were naturally talented, or those who had perfected their martial arts through real combat, it was as natural as breathing, but for Encrid, it was also a weapon he had only gained after losing his life countless times.

SWISH.

Just before the Company Commander's Nidle collided with Encrid's longsword, the Nidle bent smoothly.

True to its nickname, the leaf blade, it really seemed to have become a leaf.

The blade bent supplely.

It was a feat performed by the Company Commander's wrist.

She snapped it and shook it.

Even while watching the blade bend, Encrid put more strength into his swing, trying to meet it with his own sword to the end.

In the end, the blade flowed away without even touching his upward strike.

Encrid cut through empty air.

It was Flowing Swordsmanship that could only be called a trick.

After that, the Fairy closed the distance again.

She dug right into his chest.

Encrid, who had prepared for it, raised his knee.

THWACK.

The Company Commander did not dodge.

Instead, she overlapped both hands and pressed down on his knee.

By pressing it down before his strength was fully loaded, she shook Encrid's balance.

He fell for it even though he knew.

That was what Encrid thought.

Even though he had definitely known she would attempt close combat like this.

When he attempted a Headbutt however he could, the Company Commander tilted her head to avoid it and drove her shoulder into Encrid's forehead.

What followed was similar to before.

Only the striking technique was different.

The Company Commander laced the hands that had blocked his knee and struck the area near Encrid's heart.

THUD!

In that instant, his breath was knocked out of him again, and the strength drained from his limbs.

If this had been a fight to the death, he would have struggled even if he had to bite his tongue, but this was a spar.

At this point, he had already lost.

"Urk, haah, haah."

Encrid retreated several steps, then held himself up by dropping to one knee on the floor and gulped down breaths.

When he raised his head like that, he saw the Company Commander's green eyes.

"More?"

She asked.

"Hooah."

Encrid's heart ached dully, but he smiled.

He was truly happy.

Happy that she did not stop just because she had won.

And so, he charged in again countless times, again and again.

He was hit, hit again, and sprawled out.

* * *

"You got beaten up because you didn't shovel the snow? Is that it?"

When he returned to the quarters, Rem, who had wrapped himself in thermal leather, reacted first.

"What?"

"Why do you look like that? Who did it?"

His words sounded as if he would charge out right away, but his hands pulled the thermal leather tighter around himself.

Yes, that thing was quite warm.

Encrid knew that too.

Today was also an unusually cold day.

"What happened?"

Ragna asked too.

For some reason, Jaxon, who was in the quarters today, also looked intently at Encrid.

His eyes seemed to be asking what had happened.

Audin muttered quietly.

"Why do you always go around getting beaten, Brother?"

'When you put it like that, it makes me sound terribly frail.'

Did it not make him sound like some immature child who got beaten up at every turn?

Encrid thought that and answered.

"I sparred."

"Who did you spar with?"

"The Company Commander."

"Our Company Commander?"

He nodded.

"Why'd you do that? If you wanted to get hit, I could've hit you."

That bastard really had a way of talking that got on your nerves.

Encrid gave up on answering.

He had just washed himself through superhuman willpower.

Fortunately, there was a bath inside the barracks where hot water came out as long as you paid crona.

If not for that, he might have given up on washing.

His whole body throbbed.

He had no strength to even twitch a finger.

Still, it was fine.

He only had to rest.

If he rested fully for about two days, he would be all right.

He had no duty and no training, so he had plenty of time to rest.

"In truth, you have labored for the security of the city, and in recognition of your service, I grant you four days of leave. There is no reward money."

That was what the Company Commander had said as she ended the spar when the sun began to set.

It meant he had no duty.

She had also said there was no reward money, but Encrid thought the spar itself was the reward.

Above all, he also had the wealth they had gained from the criminal guild.

'I think it was more than ten times.'

That was the number of times he had sprawled out on the frozen dirt floor.

His body had suffered, but he had learned something.

'What I'm lacking right now.'

Instead of opening her mouth and saying it, the Company Commander had told him with her sword and fists.

It was only natural to hone his swordsmanship, Concentrate on a Single Point, Heart of a Beast, and Sense of the Blade.

That was the foundation.

However, before that, Encrid realized what he needed to fill inside himself.

"You are dull, you know."

The Company Commander's last words had flown at him like a dagger, but something of that level did not hurt.

The teachers who had taught him until now had lived with even harsher words on their tongues.

"Is this something you must learn?"

"Quit and go back to your hometown to farm."

"I cannot teach someone who will become a third-rate swordsman and die."

The more proper the person, the harsher the words they spat out.

The Company Commander had called Encrid dull, but Encrid had obtained what he wanted even within that dullness.

'A lack of technique.'

More precisely, it was a lack of technique in handling his body.

The Fairy Company Commander had continued throwing him down in the same manner.

She taught with her body, and Encrid also accepted the lesson with his body.

When it came to opportunities to learn, he did not let them slip away, like a hawk hunting prey.

'What I need.'

It was combat technique called wrestling, fighting arts, martial arts, or hand-to-hand combat.

Just because one swung a sword did not mean one fought only with a sword in hand.

It meant it also included using the hands, feet, and torso.

Until now, Encrid had used such methods quite a bit too.

'But it became clear that I had never learned them properly.'

The Company Commander's technique was extremely outstanding.

In particular, when she dropped her sword and charged in as though crawling along the floor, breaking his balance in an instant and then grabbing his knee to twist it, there was no way to withstand it.

What if he drew a dagger and stabbed down?

No, if it were the Company Commander, she would dislocate and break his knee joint before he could draw and drive in the dagger, then pull her body out.

'Not easy.'

The point was that it was a difference in technique.

There was also a difference in proficiency, but in the first place, what they had learned and possessed was different.

'It was fun, though.'

His whole body throbbed, and even now it felt as though his bones were bruised, but he had learned something.

Moreover, that learning had opened a new path for him, so Encrid was happy.

When he tried to lie down on his cot, the panther poked its head out and looked at him with blue eyes.

'I said I'd give it a name.'

It would be troublesome if it did not even have a proper name to call it by.

When he pushed his body into the cot, the panther burrowed into his arms.

He felt warm heat.

Somehow, that warmth made his battered body feel a little better.

"Since you're warm, should I name you Stove?"

"You call that a name?"

Rem cut in from the side.

This bastard really poked his nose into everything.

"Is it weird?"

"Are you asking seriously?"

It was from the cot on the other side.

Ragna answered.

He was lying down on his cot.

For someone too lazy to even get up, his mouth was alive and well.

"Brother, do you hate the panther?"

Even Audin was like this.

"You hate it?"

When Encrid asked the panther, it slapped Encrid's cheek with its front paw.

"You really must hate it."

Encrid muttered, then held the panther in his arms and sank into thought.

What should he name it?

I never thought I would worry over something like this.

Blackie?

No, that sounds like a dog's name.

Since its eyes are blue and like a lake, should I call it Blue Eyes?

This one seems a little decent.

The panther, nestled in his arms, tapped his chest as if it were reading his thoughts and saying it hated every single one of them.

You hate Blue Eyes too?

Then what should I call you?

Should I call you Black Panther?

That does sound convenient.

PRESS.

The panther pressed down on his chest with its paw.

Seeing it rub against him repeatedly after pressing down, it seemed to hate that one quite a bit too.

'But you, are you reading my thoughts?'

They had gone out on an external operation and spent the night together with the comrades of those he had killed.

In that situation, Rem, who had slept while even snoring, and Ragna, who had slept like the dead, were the strange ones.

Some degree of tension was necessary.

Thanks to that, he had not been able to sleep deeply in the thieves' stronghold.

He had dozed lightly and had barely managed to close his eyes for a short while.

After returning, he had reported immediately, and then it had been straight to sparring.

And it had been sparring that had abused his body as he rolled over the frozen ground several times.

Thanks to that, his body had grown languid.

After washing with hot water, returning, wrapping himself in thermal leather, and then pulling a blanket over that, warmth seeped into his body.

The warmth the panther gave off also played a part.

The way it pressed down with its paws in rhythm also naturally lulled him to sleep.

Encrid was half drunk on sleep like that.

'What is your name?'

A state where half the mind was in a dream and half the mind was in reality could be called half-asleep.

The moment he asked in that state, Encrid dreamed.

In the dream, a beauty with silver-blonde hair and blue eyes appeared.

Her wide-open eyes were large and clear, and the straight bridge of her nose seemed to show her personality.

He thought she was an arrogant beauty, upright and without disarray.

In the middle of a flower meadow where white, red, yellow, and blue flowers bloomed in abundance.

She was like a star shining alone among the flowers.

A star that gave light to every flower.

"You're pretty."

Encrid said.

His voice crossed the meadow and reached the other person.

He knew because it was a dream.

And then.

"My name is Esther."

She said.

That voice, too, crossed distance and space and reached Encrid.

Then the meadow disappeared again, and she disappeared as well.

Half drunk on sleep, Encrid mumbled in his sleep.

"Esther, let's call you Esther."

"... Are you dreaming?"

Rem answered from the side, but Encrid, who had already fallen asleep, did not reply.

Rem, looking at the sleeping Squad Leader, tilted his head.

No matter how tired he was, he was not the kind of person to lose consciousness and fall asleep like that.

"Guess he's tired."

Rem muttered.

It seemed the Company Commander had really put the Squad Leader through the wringer.

He did not like that very much.

That Fairy woman called the Company Commander was the type whose thoughts you could not read at all.

And moreover, why was she putting his Squad Leader through that at her own discretion?

With whose permission?

PURR.

As if reacting to the word Esther, the panther in the Squad Leader's arms let out a pleased rumble.

"Fine, be Esther, then. You."

Rem said it jokingly and closed his eyes himself.

He was satisfied with the current warmth.

He hated the cold.

Truly, terribly hated it.

Had they said there was no duty for three days?

During that time, Rem had no intention of leaving the thermal leather except to eat and shit.

* * *

The lake panther, Esther, smelled a familiar scent from the man called Encrid.

It was a scent related to spells, mysteries, and secret arts.

If one actually dug into it, it was closer to a curse.

'It only stayed on the surface.'

The mystery called a curse had left only traces around Encrid without being able to exert any power.

Based on her experience, it seemed a spell trap someone had set up had activated.

It had activated, but it had not worked.

She had a guess as to why the curse had only lingered there.

Of course, it was only a guess.

With her current body, she could prove nothing.

She wanted to know in detail and dig deeper, but for now, she could not question it.

To be precise, it was not something to question.

Taking in the scent of the spell to her heart's content, she absorbed the energy that had failed to affect the man called Encrid and remained only on the surface.

The intent and will that could have been called a curse had already disappeared, leaving only pure energy, mana.

Esther savored it to her heart's content.

It was a sweet scent.

After all, it was a part of the world of spells she had tasted for the first time in a very long while.

In the midst of that, she projected herself into the dream of the man who was trying to give her a name as he pleased.

"My name is Esther."

She properly conveyed her name.

She simply could not leave it alone.

Because in the world of spells, a name held special meaning.

All the more so when her current state was not very good.

If she received a new name in her current form, the curse would deepen.

So she had to tell him her original name.

That was why she had forced herself to appear in the man's dream.

Was it thanks to the mana left in the body of the man called Encrid and to projecting her form into his dream?

For a brief moment, Esther regained her original form.

Naked, in the arms of the man she had chosen.

"Mm."

The man pulled her into his embrace.

Since Esther had never allowed the opposite sex into her arms, her face quickly turned bright red.

But no one saw it.

The man's firm chest muscles were right in front of her nose.

Esther only let out a thin breath and did not move an inch.

She was in no position to cause a commotion.

Her original form had returned only for a very brief moment.

The man's eyelids slowly lifted.

His eyes were drunk on sleep.

They were not a clear gaze.

The moment she met those eyes, Esther was so startled that she forgot to breathe.

"Hm?"

The man looked at her with a dazed gaze, gently closed his eyes, and opened them again.

His eyes were still drunk on sleep.

In the meantime, Esther returned to the form of a panther.

It was the mystery of magic.

The man, who had opened his eyes again, closed them and sank back into sleep.

"Esther, Esther."

The man mumbled her name in his sleep.

He would not remember, would he?

She thought it fortunate that she had turned back into a panther.

To be held naked in a man's arms, a man she was seeing for the first time—strictly speaking, not the first time, but anyway.

She did not even want to imagine it.

Then Esther regretted it.

'To think I would call the curse fortunate.'

It was not something she would think even by mistake.

But it was her first time being held in a man's arms like this.

For no reason, the panther tried to push the man away, then stayed still.

The scent of mana still remained in the man's embrace and tempted her.

She thought it was because of the mana and burrowed into his arms.

Just as Encrid felt the panther's warmth.

The panther also felt Encrid's warmth.

She had recovered enough energy to regain her original form, if only for a moment.

Now, even in the form of a panther, she should be able to move to some extent.

Though she still needed time to regain her own form.

'Soon.'

It was literally only a matter of time.

If she stayed by the side of this human called Encrid, it could happen.

If not, she would not have come looking for this man in the first place.

'I do like his face.'

Even in her eyes, Encrid was a rare handsome man.

Of course, Esther thought that was not what mattered.