Chapter 96 - Those With Something to See and Those Without

Torres masterfully dug into weaknesses at the slightest moment of carelessness.

He knew how to read his opponent's breathing and condition as naturally as breathing himself.

When asked how he could do that.

"You just have to fight as many different guys as possible. That's the fastest way to become a special-grade soldier in a short time, and the philosophy of the Border Guard."

There wasn't really anything philosophical about it, so the last part was likely a half-joke.

Torres chuckled after speaking.

Staring at the swaying waves, Encrid looked at the river and thought.

'It's different.'

Just as Rem and Ragna's teachings were different.

Sparring and talking with Torres was different too.

The Fairy Company Commander was different as well.

'They're all varied.'

There was something to learn from all of them. There wasn't a single thing to miss.

Torres's hidden knife was a simple sleight of hand in a way, but he learned it could become a fatal move depending on how it was used.

For that, he even partially learned how to deceive the opponent's perception.

It was Torres's practical combat method.

"It's all thanks to the man I call a father being a gambler, and wanting to make me a second-generation gambler."

Should he call it the origin of the hidden knife technique?

To Encrid, it sounded like a statement saying it was the result of outstanding talent and ceaseless effort.

"Shall I teach you?"

It was right before the Boatswain arrived.

"I thought you said it was a secret art?"

"I'll teach you if you want."

Why was he acting like this?

He didn't know. However, Encrid was more used to grasping a given opportunity than finding the reason for his opponent's change of heart.

Nod.

"Good. Watch closely, hide it inside your sleeve like this."

After that, explanations followed on how to hide the knife, how to draw it just by flipping the palm, and so on.

"You really have no talent for this."

Encrid's fingertips were dull enough for Torres to spit out complaints, but.

Because he knew how to utilize Concentrate on a Single Point when learning something, it was better than before.

It was certainly several times better than before.

If it were the past Encrid, if it were before he learned Concentrate on a Single Point.

'Would I have given up early on?'

Wouldn't he have seen Torres shaking his head early on?

Because investing time into something that showed no potential would be a foolish act.

"Tell the smithy later to make a dedicated knife for you. Before that, it'll be good to practice with something like a thin stone."

Torres said so and even picked up a thin stone for him himself.

"You really are dull."

And then another scolding.

Because it was a well-known fact, Encrid didn't even pretend to listen.

He didn't have the luxury to live caring about words like that in the first place anyway.

"Still, you are persistent."

He let Torres's words slide and tried it a few times, but naturally, it didn't come easily.

It was the process of hiding the thin stone slab while adding concentration.

Letting the sleeve hang loosely, he slipped the stone inside. Pointing the back of his hand toward the sky and then flicking it as he turned it toward the ground was the core mechanic.

Naturally, it wasn't easy.

"It would be nice to at least have a practice sheath, but."

It was Torres's muttering.

When practicing normally, there was supposedly a dedicated sheath inside the sleeve to fix the dagger or something similar in place.

He said it was good to use before getting used to it.

"It's an application of a technique called palming among gamblers."

Torres said while watching Encrid hone the technique.

"Palming."

It could be called a technique that could only be used when a few conditions were met.

The blade had to be shorter than a fully opened palm, and since hiding it had to be done with precise timing, time was needed to practice starting from how to grip it in the hand.

'It's hard.'

It was several times harder than swinging a sword.

Still, it was better than getting his hands used to a shield.

After spending time like that and resting while drenched in sweat from sparring again, the Boatswain arrived.

The Boatswain followed the road, and this side was an area where patrols regularly swept for monsters.

Thanks to that, the Boatswain could come alone.

"They say they'll build a cabin here after this year passes. Then boatswains or fishermen will settle down around here. It would be nice if a small fishing village formed, if possible."

The Boatswain was talkative. Entertaining him appropriately, Encrid looked at the river water while listening to the squeaking and creaking sound of the oar.

Penn-Hanil River.

It was the lifeline for the surrounding villages, as well as on a larger scale, the neighboring countries including Naurilia.

Far away on the riverside, low-growing grass and a few trees could be seen, and casting his gaze to one side, he could also spot a waterfall tumbling between rocky cliffs and a few cabins built along the riverside.

This side was a gravel path, but casting his gaze beyond it, a grass field that would turn green when spring arrived was also visible.

"Whoops, the current is slow and the depth is shallow here, but those kinds of things are dangerous."

The Boatswain muttered as if talking to himself and changed the direction of the rowboat.

A dark gray rock jutting out in the middle was visible.

It would be natural for a rowboat like this to break if it got caught on that.

The boat flowed leisurely along the river water, and soon reached the other side.

"I'll be going now."

The Boatswain headed back.

"Shall we wash up a bit before we go? We have some time to spare before we have to meet them."

Torres suggested, looking at the sun high in the sky.

"That sounds good."

He was already drenched in sweat, and as it cooled down, an unpleasant odor was rising.

He didn't know how many days the operation would take, but there was no need to be unpleasant from the start.

Eating, sleeping, and washing whenever there was time to spare was also a soldier's basic qualification.

"Then."

Torres casually stripped off his clothes first and submerged his body in the river.

The swaying river water was somewhere between blue and green, and it looked incredibly clear and clean.

Soon, Encrid also removed his armaments one by one and entered the river completely naked.

As he dipped his feet in, goosebumps rose all over his body at the chilly sensation.

Torres's eyes widened upon seeing Encrid like that.

"Wh... what the hell are you."

Was there something to be surprised about here?

Torres opened his mouth, lowered his gaze between Encrid's legs, then soon stopped talking and shut his mouth tight.

Encrid also looked down between his legs anew.

There actually was one thing to be surprised about.

"This bastard, he has it all."

Torres's tone sounded like he was about to cry.

"You should've just had the face."

"You keep saying that, it makes me want to thank the parents whose names I don't even know."

"Are you an orphan?"

"Yeah."

Not knowing one's parents wasn't something unusual here. Half the people serving in the military were probably like that.

"It might be better not to have parents than ones who beat your palms while trying to teach you something."

"Maybe so."

Encrid had never craved parental affection in the first place. He only wanted to swing his sword with that time.

A time when he had nothing, absolutely nothing.

The only things that helped him endure those days were the dream of becoming a knight and the object called a sword.

Would the world be soft to a kid who grew up as an orphan?

No way.

It wasn't that kind of world. It was a miracle he hadn't died.

He was only alive because the people in the village Encrid stayed in were simple and kind-hearted.

'A knight.'

He had lived looking solely at that. He dreamed of becoming a knight in the time he could have spent craving affection.

He dreamed to forget his hunger.

He swung a club like a sword to forget his pain.

That was why Encrid didn't crave affection.

Instead, he craved the sword.

A dream he dreamed because of that. A knight who ended wars, the beginning of Encrid's dream.

A few people from the village he could call his hometown brushed through his mind anew.

They weren't people who cherished him like parents.

But at the very least, they weren't people who would leave him to die.

A world where even such people are swept up in war is this world.

'War devours everything.'

So it would be good if he could end that war.

What did he have to do to contribute to that?

'My sword.'

He just had to swing and swing again.

That was the only method Encrid knew.

That was his parent, his brother, and his sister.

It was his dream, his goal, and his everything.

Bloop.

Bubbles rose above the surface of the water.

When Encrid fell deep in thought while submerged, Torres tapped Encrid's shoulder underwater.

"Pwah."

As he came up exhaling his breath like that.

"They're here."

Torres said, casting his gaze to one side.

Following his turned eyes and looking back, a soldier standing with their weight on one leg and two soldiers behind them holding clubs even shorter than a shortsword came into view.

At a passing glance, it was an armament easily mistaken for a horse thief or a bandit.

Blunt weapons called clubs and worn-out leather armor.

Their armaments were light. Giving up the thick cloth armor known as a gambeson meant they placed more weight on mobility.

Naturally, Encrid sized up the level of their martial prowess.

It was something he had learned through Audin and the isolation technique.

'The balance of their arms is good.'

Even though they were resting their weight on one leg, they kept both hands hanging loose right away.

When did one take a stance like that?

'They could throw something if things go south.'

It seemed their skill at handling throwing weapons would be quite decent.

As if to prove it, throwing handaxes were dangling at their waists.

Judging from the degree of their training, they likely had other talents as well.

The two soldiers standing behind wore daggers at their waists instead of axes, and didn't stand out much aside from holding clubs in their hands.

'Orange hair.'

Encrid's gaze finally landed on the face of the soldier standing at the front. Freckles and orange hair, with a small frame.

It was a female soldier.

"You're quite relaxed, aren't you? Enjoying a bath and all. Is it refreshing?"

The orange-haired soldier greeted the two with a cocky tone.

Seeing that, Encrid realized anew that his Sixth Sense still had to develop.

'I didn't feel them approaching.'

It might have been a given. He hadn't expected anyone to come all the way here in the first place.

It was because he had fallen deep in thought while submerged underwater.

Had he let his guard down too much?

No. He had still made minimal preparations.

They were right in front of the riverside, and their armaments were right there.

There was also the fact that the people who approached this far were skilled at hiding their presence.

The orange-haired soldier standing on relatively higher ground spoke.

"Are you not coming out?"

Torres stepped up first.

"Are you going to keep staring?"

Saying that, he spoke.

"I'd only stare if there was something to see."

'Harsh.'

Encrid thought as he stepped out. *SPLASH*, water flowed down his body.

In truth, was a man's symbol really the only thing Torres was surprised by?

No.

The isolation technique had molded Encrid's body into an entirely different form.

The teachings of Audin engraved while repeating today, the overlapped result of time was clearly revealed on his body.

His firm arm muscles twitched along his sculpted shoulder muscles.

Following his solid chest muscles down, his defined abs rippled, and the sculpted quadriceps on the front of his thighs greeted the soldier's eyes.

Lastly, the thing heavily jutting out in the middle filled the soldier's eyes.

"... It seems that side has something to see."

It made Torres, who was blankly watching the situation from the side, spit out a complaining remark.

"Ahem, put some clothes on."

The orange-haired soldier said with a dry cough.

Torres and Encrid left their sweat-drenched clothes and took out new clothes from their backpacks to put on.

Their worn clothes were drying to the point where salt stains were visible.

It would be good to wash them a bit when there was time.

With that thought, Encrid stood up fully armed again.

"Recon Platoon Commander Pin."

The orange-haired soldier said, holding out a fist.

Torres stepped up first.

"Border Guard Platoon Commander Torres."

*Bump*, after bumping fists, that fist soon approached Encrid.

"Independent Platoon, Platoon Commander Encrid."

The Fairy Company Commander had strangely changed Encrid's affiliation.

Since she couldn't entrust him with an actual platoon, she completely pulled him out and structured him into an Independent Platoon directly beneath the company.

"Independent Platoon? What's that? Anyway, nice to meet you."

Pin bypassed Encrid's fist and tapped his stomach.

"Nice abs, by the way."

"My abs should've been good too."

Torres muttered from the side. Seeing how he made it loud enough for everyone to hear, it didn't really seem like a soliloquy.

"Shall we talk as we go? If we leave now, we can reach the encampment before the sun goes down."

The two soldiers behind appeared to be Pin's subordinates. They each gave a military salute.

Soon, the party of five moved out.

On the way, the detailed operation objective finally came out of Pin's mouth.

"You didn't come without knowing where this is, right?"

"I heard it's the Land of the Monsters and Beasts."

Encrid replied.

He was just reflecting on what Henri had said one by one with his excellent memory.

He had said that the upper reaches of the Penn-Hanil River had many nests for monsters and beasts.

That it was a land shunned by anyone other than pathfinders or hunters who were exceptionally good at finding paths.

"It's also right under the nose of Cross Guard."

Pin's stiff tone continued.

"The original operation objective was to receive information through a cat. Well, that was everything until now."

Cat was slang for a spy.

It was a term commonly used on this continent.

Both countries did plant spies in each city.

That went for Aspen as well as Naurilia.

Encrid had actually fought and killed some of those spies himself, so the existence of spies wasn't anything special.

"And it's already been four days since the cat missed their scheduled contact."

Pin said while walking. Then what would happen?

As Torres and Encrid leaned in to listen, Pin finished speaking.

"Instructions came down from here, telling us to go in directly and rescue them. Because the last contact from our cat said they had acquired important information."

Encrid trembled all over at a thrilling sensation. Goosebumps rose as a warning of danger struck his entire body.

This was.

'Dangerous.'

It wasn't just dangerous.

He would die. He would definitely die several times.

The instinctual intuition developed while experiencing countless todays was telling him.

Because following what the woman named Pin said right now also meant they had to infiltrate the inside of Cross Guard.

"Phew, it's a dog-shit mission, right? Fuck, I know it too. But there is a way, there really is."

Only then did Pin chuckle and say.

It was a self-deprecating laugh.

Encrid had already realized it back when he fell into the magician's trap.

Could he get past today by running away?

The answer was 'no'.

Even if he tried to stay up all night, even if he just fell asleep, even if he ran away somewhere else all night.

The result was the same.

It only added fatigue to his body.

What he realized was that it couldn't be avoided.

And if it couldn't be avoided, one had no choice but to enjoy it.

Encrid laughed too. It was a laugh with a different feel from Pin's.

It was a laugh of joy revealing expectation and a smile of euphoria.

Seeing that, Pin twitched her eyebrows and said.

"The main force sent a crazy bastard, didn't they?"

Torres also nodded with half-sincerity.

Because even to him, Encrid wasn't normal.

He was tense himself, but this was just...

Of course, Encrid was tense too, but.

His mindset for welcoming a new tomorrow was simply different.

'I'll overcome it.'

Overcoming the wall, that meant growth, so he laughed in joy at that.

Of course he would struggle. He would struggle with all his might to avoid being trapped in today.

That didn't mean it wasn't terrifying.

He was simply looking further ahead than that.

A lot of strength went into the shoulders of the walking Encrid.

It was because of the mix of tension and anticipation.