Chapter 71: Rumors Take Flight on the Wings of Light
“Your body is finally worth looking at now, Brother.”
“At this level, your basics aren’t bad anymore.”
“You shouldn’t die to just any blind sword now. Your responses aren’t bad either. I’d say you’re just about there.”
“Heh, looks like you’re finally ready for a proper spar. Has the sword stuck to your hand now? And the Heart of the Beast has ripened too?”
These were the words of each squad member.
Without needing to think deeply, it was clear that they were all saying the same thing: his skills had improved.
For Encrid, improving his skills held a very special meaning in his life.
It was the thread that connected his dreams, the moonlight that illuminated the dark night, and the dawn that brought a new morning.
A ray of light had seeped into his faded, tattered dreams.
That single ray of light became the foundation that allowed his dream to rise again.
A knight is a title completed through skill and built upon honor.
Encrid didn’t just want to become a knight-class mercenary or warrior—he wanted to become a knight.
If you asked why, he would struggle to answer.
There was something that tickled his chest, but it wouldn’t come out of his mouth easily.
If someone told him to lie, he could do so, but he hated that idea.
In this regard, Encrid was a rather stubborn person.
The unreasonable things he’d seen during his time as a mercenary also played a part in keeping him from giving up on his dream.
But that wasn’t the whole reason.
Why is a dream a dream?
‘Simply because you desire it.’
He wanted to be cheered by others.
He enjoyed the time spent honing his swordsmanship.
He liked the time spent chatting with those around him.
In the past, he wanted to meet the people who had ignored and cast him aside and show them how much he had changed.
It was a tangled mess of desires.
The human heart is never simple.
All those tangled desires converged into two words for Encrid.
‘Knight.’
It was his dream.
Even though he lacked the skill and had a long way to go.
If a path toward his dream had opened up, he wanted to walk that path.
Therefore, building honor was something he also needed to do.
Additionally, he wanted to test himself.
‘How far will my sword reach?’
In terms of sparring, he had only ever done it with his squadmates.
He had fought and won against Mitch Hurier on the battlefield, passed the promotion test, and even survived an assassination attempt by a half-blooded elf. But he knew that the Encrid of back then was different from the Encrid of today.
Encrid clenched and opened his hand.
‘I want to fight.’
He wanted a moment where he could prove himself solely through wielding his sword.
He had risen to the rank of advanced soldier in the military grading system.
However, there were still variations within the advanced level.
The desire to win, the pride that came from improved skills, and curiosity arose from within him.
It was a desire to confirm his abilities through real combat.
And then, an opportunity came.
Moreover, the company commander was joining. This wouldn’t be an easy mission.
‘But why is the company commander coming personally?’
That was Encrid’s question.
Was he the only one wondering?
The commander’s only intent in stopping by seemed to be for convenience, but to the other platoon leaders, it seemed unusual.
Especially for the leader of the 4th Platoon, Encrid’s direct superior, it was a particularly strange occurrence.
It might have been a coincidence, but some people never take coincidences at face value.
* * *
The Border Guard’s standing army often lent military support to the city’s citizens and merchant guilds.
This practice stemmed from one of Naurilia’s two major policies.
One was the military grading system.
The second was the military mercenary system.
This system allowed soldiers, instead of mercenaries, to take on requests. Along with the grading system, it was one of the kingdom’s most successful policies.
“The Border Guard’s standing army is reliable.”
Such words were often spoken.
It was only natural that the military mercenary system, where soldiers took on tasks instead of mercenaries, would gain the approval of the citizens and the guilds.
Mercenaries were rough and brutal, but soldiers were less so. As in all well-disciplined units, the soldiers strictly followed orders.
Additionally, compared to large mercenary guilds, they were much cheaper.
“Isn’t escorting for public safety an obvious duty? Demanding crowns for each task seems excessive, don’t you think?”
Occasionally, a merchant leader would grumble like this.
But once they used the escort soldiers even once, those complaints would vanish.
The Border Guard’s standing army fought in two localized wars every year.
They were stationed in a military city close to the front lines.
In a place where life and death constantly intertwined, naturally, only the capable remained, and the level of the standing soldiers became uniformly high.
Cost, skill, safety.
These three reasons ensured everyone’s satisfaction, which was why it was considered a successful policy.
The company commander’s task was one of those regular jobs.
‘But still?’
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
This wasn’t a job that required the company commander to step in personally.
The platoon leaders all had eyes and ears. Though they kept their mouths shut out of propriety, they knew that their commander wasn’t some average officer.
‘He could even spar with the Border Guard’s garrison commander.’
The Border Guard’s garrison commander was considered the strongest in the Border Guard. The battalion commander was a different story altogether.
‘He could probably take on the heavy infantry company commander too.’
The fairy company commander had already proven their strength on the battlefield.
“I’ll take care of this request.”
That same fairy company commander said they would take the task personally.
When a superior says they’ll handle it, what can you say?
All you can do is agree.
“Why are you personally taking this on?”
The 4th Platoon leader asked.
“I’m bringing the troublemaker squad leader with me.”
That was the answer.
What’s the big deal with one request?
The only issue was the person they were taking along.
The “spellbreaker,” advanced soldier Encrid.
The 4th Platoon leader had risen to his position entirely by reading the room.
Once the fairy company commander left, the 4th Platoon leader started racking his brain, recalling the past.
Gathering information was key to understanding situations. A delay in grasping the situation could hinder one’s promotion.
For the sake of his future, he carefully recollected.
‘Didn’t they visit the medical barracks too?’
The fairy company commander had personally visited Encrid.
And that was right after their appointment.
They went to the medical barracks specifically to see him.
After that, there were several private meetings with Encrid.
There were hardly any private meetings with the other platoon leaders.
If they even got proper answers out of the commander, it was a relief.
The commander had even intervened in Encrid’s promotion battle.
The 4th Platoon leader had witnessed it.
‘It was when we fought the Border Guard’s garrison soldiers.’
Back then, it looked to him as if the commander had stepped in to save Encrid from danger.
On a snowy day, the commander had given orders to only the troublemaker squad to go outside.
They didn’t return until the snow was all cleared by morning.
‘They even brought heated leather back with them.’
Where had they gone?
It was classified as a covert operation. The commander personally received the report, so the 4th Platoon leader didn’t know.
He had also heard that they sparred together in a private training ground.
Why had that happened?
Medical barracks, private meetings, the promotion battle, the snowy day’s mission orders, the sparring, and now this task.
All of this information came together in his head, forming a conclusion.
The 4th Platoon leader shuddered at his own deduction. Of course, it was all a misunderstanding and a chain of stupid thoughts, but he was utterly convinced of his own theory.
So, a thought came to him naturally.
‘Could the two of them be…?’
He imagined the fairy commander and the troublemaker squad leader standing together.
The image looked surprisingly fitting.
“No way, right?”
Though he was deeply convinced, he muttered to himself just in case.
“What are you talking about?”
One of his subordinates, standing by during their dull guard duty, asked.
The 4th Platoon leader cautiously shared his theory.
If his subordinate had brushed it off as nonsense, that would have been the end of it.
“…Whoa, damn.”
But the subordinate’s reaction was strange. His pupils trembled.
He, too, seemed shocked.
Although the Border Guard wasn’t a small city, some rumors spread faster than a horse with wings.
Especially certain rumors that people like the bathhouse attendants and kitchen workers were obsessed with.
Through them, the rumor spread like wildfire and quickly took over the camp.
Within less than a day, no one in the camp didn’t know.
* * *
“Squad leader! Is it true you’re going to be a father soon? Is it?”
Krys, who had returned to camp after three days, asked.
Where had it all gone wrong?
Encrid tried to think, but there was no way for him to know.
The rumor had already spread.
At Krys’ words, Rem laughed so hard he was clutching his belly.
He laughed so joyfully that his heated leather slipped, and his bare feet popped out.
“Kihihihi, of course! Of course. He’s gonna be a father. Big Eyes, did you hear about
the mother too?”
“Well, yeah. I wasn’t sure about this rumor. I figured the kid part was an exaggeration, but when did the company commander seduce you? As expected of our squad leader.”
When Krys gave him a thumbs-up, Encrid grabbed his thumb and pushed it back down.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Someone’s spreading strange rumors.”
It was the 4th Platoon leader who had started the rumor, but Encrid didn’t know that.
Even Krys, who had recently become quite skilled at handling information, didn’t know.
If he really put his mind to it, he could track down the source of the rumor, but what would be the point?
It wasn’t like his life was in danger.
“Hm, it wouldn’t be a bad idea, though. You could marry her and take her as your swordsmanship instructor.”
Even Ragna chipped in with a comment.
What in the world went on in that guy’s head?
Sometimes, it seemed like he was even crazier than Rem.
Was he suggesting that Encrid use marriage as an opportunity to improve his swordsmanship?
“Huuhh, kiiieeee.”
Rem, who hadn’t stopped laughing beside him, started making sounds that resembled a monster’s cry.
“Don’t get too attached. It’ll hurt if you get dumped later.”
That was Jaxson, folding his clothes off to one side.
‘Is it a given that I’ll get dumped?’
Wasn’t the premise a bit off?
“Brother, blessings to you.”
They were all teasing him, even though they knew the truth.
Everyone knew about Encrid’s daily routine.
He barely had time to connect with anyone, let alone form any relationships.
“Let’s just drop it.”
It was nothing more than a ridiculous rumor. He thought as much and reached out to pet Esther.
Hiss!
Today, for some reason, Esther rejected his touch.
“I’m not Krys, you know.”
Encrid spoke, feeling wronged, but Esther only shot him a sharp glare and stretched out on the heated leather.
She had been snuggling into his arms all day, so why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
“Looks like she’s jealous. You should comfort her a bit.”
Rem added, before grabbing his belly again and laughing like a madman.
Rem really was insane.
“Ahh, thanks for the laughs. So when are we leaving?”
“Where?”
“The escort mission. You’re only allowed to take one person, right?”
“And?”
“Of course, I’m the one going with you.”
He proudly declared this, flapping his leather and half rising from his seat, confidently pointing at himself with his thumb.
The leather fluttered once on Rem’s shoulders and draped over him like a cloak.
“You’re messing with me because I teased you, aren’t you? Let’s be reasonable here, squad leader. Are you really going to take that ice-cold Jaxson? If the escort target says one wrong word, it’ll be chaos. Do you really want to see a sneaky wildcat clawing at the escort target?”
That’s coming from you?
Encrid was dumbfounded, though he kept his expression neutral.
He was basically letting Rem talk all he wanted.
“Lazy bum, he wouldn’t care.”
Ragna rarely took part in these kinds of requests unless he absolutely had to.
“You’re not seriously thinking of taking Big Eyes, are you? You’re not planning to increase the number of people who need guarding, right?”
That was a valid point.
Krys was never an option in the first place.
“And the big guy, yeah, sure, he’s useful. But what if he starts mumbling prayers next to the escort target? What if he does it all day? I doubt the escort target would appreciate that.”
The “big guy” referred to Audin. Rem, the smooth-tongued Westerner, had a way of speaking that could lead anyone to believe he was the only viable choice.
However.
‘You’re the real problem.’
Why had he assaulted a superior?
Because of his temper.
If the mission required him to protect the target by beating someone up, then sure, Rem might be okay.
But what if he couldn’t resort to violence?
What if the escort target had even a bit of a bad attitude?
There was no way he could leave Rem alone with them.
In less than a day, or even half a day, everything would fall apart.
If Encrid wanted to avoid paying a mountain of penalties instead of earning achievements, Rem was the last person he should take.
“You’re not going. Absolutely not.”
There was no need to think about it. His reply was firm.
“…Wow, I’m hurt. Especially at that ‘absolutely not.’ What am I supposed to do now? You’ve scarred the heart of a grown man.”
“Still no.”
“I’m going to go astray.”
Encrid ignored him. Rem always said nonsense, as if his head was full of rocks.
He scanned the camp.
“If you insist that much.”
Ragna, who had caught his eye, muttered. What a joke. If Encrid brought him along, the mission would be more about keeping Ragna awake than completing the escort.
He would be exhausted just trying to wake the guy up.
‘It’s not like I can send him alone.’
He would get lost.
Ragna had an unbelievable lack of direction.
The remaining choices were Audin and Jaxson.
There was no need to overthink it, so Encrid spoke.
“Alright, I’ve made my decision.”