A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

”Banquet? Instead of that nonsense, why don’t you finish one more piece of paperwork?”

What is a throne?

What is a crown?

Now, Crang could answer with certainty.

‘A seat perfect for overworking oneself to death.’

There was too much work. Far too much. His head was about to explode from handling it alone.

But it had to be done, so he did it. Crang reduced his sleep and then made the king’s cook uncomfortable.

”You should eat properly, shouldn’t you?”

Marcus spoke beside him.

While chewing a sandwich, Crang widened his eyes at Marcus.

He spoke with his eyes instead of his mouth.

‘With all this work piling up, you want me to waste time lighting candles, holding knives and forks, and chatting with other nobles?’

”...Fine.”

Marcus saw a new side of Crang. This man was a workaholic. Of course, there must have been a reason behind it.

Still, he had to speak his mind.

”Some nobles are trying to approach Enkrid.”

Crang raised his head, which had been buried in paperwork, while still holding the sandwich.

Marcus calmly continued.

”They probably want to get the hero of the nation on their side.”

Even though Crang had driven them out, how many nobles remained in the capital?

At a rough estimate, it would be over a hundred.

And if you added nobles from other regions?

Not all of them would be sharp or quick-witted.

There were probably those who remained loyal but also those who wanted to grab their share now that the civil war was over.

What was the best way for them to get the most?

To have the king himself call them a close friend.

The hero of the nation, who the king had passed the crown to during the memorial ceremony.

If they could have such a person in their territory? What about bringing him into their ranks? Moreover, the other side wasn’t even affiliated with anyone.

He was merely a company commander in the Border Guard.

So they would try every trick in the book, from using beautiful women to any underhanded scheme they could think of.

”People change,” Marcus said.

Crang swallowed the sandwich and briefly met Marcus’s gaze.

The two of them, both with dark circles under their eyes, looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing.

”Hahaha.”

”Phuhuhu.”

Some people change.

But Enkrid wasn’t one of them.

”Tell them to work harder. He’ll take care of it.”

Crang didn’t care about the nobles trying to approach Enkrid. He had more important things to ask Marcus.

”But... are you sure this will work?”

”Huh? Oh, do you mean the title? Yes, that would be better.”

”Mm.”

Crang nodded.

”I think Marquis [N O V E L I G H T] Baisar also went to see Enki.”

”He’s a bit off now, too.”

Crang really didn’t care. Anyone who had spent time with Enkrid would feel that way.

”So, the nobles hosting a banquet...”

Marcus spoke, but Crang interrupted him.

”Can we seize their assets?”

”By force?”

”Yeah.”

”Was your closest goal to become a tyrant?”

Would it matter if he became a tyrant? Crang was momentarily swayed by the temptation.

‘Why is the royal family so poor?’

As soon as the queen succeeded the throne, she politely told him to stay and left. She even took the royal sorcerer with her.

Crang had already decided to think of them as if they were non-existent.

His biggest concern lately was how to punish Crona.

If he knew Kraiss well enough, he would have wanted to make him the finance minister right away.

Of course, he had dug this hole for himself.

Crang had meddled quite aggressively in policy.

The most critical problem was the king’s guards.

Crang replaced the king’s guards with his own.

”I heard you’ve kept your position as a knight with the condition that you never leave the palace. Is that something you want to do?”

The guard, who maintained his position with a combination of magical powers and Will’s mysteries, needed to understand the true meaning behind the king’s words.

He didn’t know what Crang was talking about.

He had been guarding the king for three generations. His grandfather and father had walked the same path. The spell that ran through his blood was both a shackle and a burden.

”Are you asking me seriously?”

When the guard asked, Crang removed his shackles. He allowed him the freedom to do what he wanted, to go wherever he wished.

The previous royal guards were brought back to serve. The man wearing the gray helmet kneeled, shedding tears.

”I will guard you with my life. Even if I have to die, I will protect you.”

Including Matthew and those who stayed by Crang’s side, it was like recreating the king’s personal guard.

Thus, the number of guards increased, and their salaries were raised.

Then, he went around to fix the many damaged defenses in the palace.

‘It’s no wonder the treasury is running low.’

Even though he had stolen from the national treasury and sold it, this was the situation.

Crang didn’t look back. There was no time to regret. He had learned that from Enkrid.

‘Let’s just do what needs to be done now.’

Even if the continent collapsed tomorrow, Enkrid would still be there, training his sword.

If draining the treasury could allow people to eat well and live well, what would be the problem?

It was an extreme idea and drive.

And there was no one to stop him.

Because of that, the award ceremony for his contributions was delayed a bit. That was why Enkrid was still in the capital.

***

Rem clearly recognized the difference between the time when he first became a troublemaking member of the squad and now.

‘How did it end up like this?’

His skills, which had stagnated while wandering the continent, had improved.

There were several reasons, but three stood out: Ragna, Jaxon, and Audin.

Fighting and fighting against these guys, refusing to lose, had made him stronger.

‘What a damn situation.’

While thinking this, he looked up and locked eyes with Ragna, who was swinging his sword with his shirt off.

“What are you staring at, crippled savage who can’t even walk by himself?”

Rem scolded himself for thinking that he owed some of his improvement to these bastards.

The real reason, however, was Enkrid. That was the truth.

He had learned while teaching, and watching his growth, Rem couldn’t afford to slack off.

“If you mess around, you die.”

Rem roughly said that to Ragna and then started loosening up his own body.

Having used excessive magic, he had expected to be bedridden for at least a month, but he quickly recovered.

His increased skill had allowed his capacity to grow, which is why his body had managed to hold up. After all, magic was based on the body.

Enkrid, meanwhile, was checking and repeating his own preparations while listening to their casual conversation.

Seeing this, Rem approached.

“You said it’s a new Will? Try it out.”

Now that he could move fairly well, a spar seemed possible. Enkrid thought today might be the day, so he drew his sword.

When he went to the smithy to have the broken silver sword repaired, he was told it was impossible. The core had been completely destroyed.

So, he asked for it to be melted down and settled for a regular longsword.

He didn’t want to blame the weapon, but he couldn’t help wishing he had a silver sword.

“Do it properly.”

Rem spoke. Enkrid did just that.

He focused his Will in his eyes and sustained it. His sight was now one that could see even a step ahead.

The sword that captured and the manifestation of the Will that fit perfectly with it.

Enkrid glimpsed the future. He saw Rem’s breath, his shoulder, hands, and feet.

Rem would swing the hammer in his left hand as if throwing it, then he would swing the axe diagonally.

The hammer would come at the same speed as usual, but the axe would follow half as fast.

The perfect display of skill with the weapons in both hands.

The future he glimpsed unfolded right before his eyes.

The hammer Rem was holding flew toward him. Although Enkrid’s sword was longer, he moved forward. Crossing his wrist, he lifted his sword upwards.

This would simultaneously block Rem’s hammer wrist and step on his foot, preparing to strike his groin with his knee.

If he got too close, the axe in Rem’s other hand would become a threat, but Rem would have to punch with the axe in his hand.

Enkrid would make it so that Rem had no choice but to attack with his fist.

‘That punch, I can take.’

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He would give up his flesh to take his enemy’s bone.

Before they had time to even exhale, their weapons, hands, and feet crossed.

Thuck! Tap! Thud!

Enkrid backed away, still watching Rem.

“How did you do that?”

“Heh, you thought that was invincible?”

It was truly a beast-like instinct and countermeasure.

Enkrid realized once again. This guy was crazy, but amazing.

The capturing sword was a formal technique. It was a style that led the battle in his favor, a fight of tactics with the opponent.

It harmonized perfectly with his sight that saw a step ahead.

But Rem had changed his movement midway, not following the prediction.

Instead of swinging the axe, he dropped it and blocked with his palm, then pressed his forehead forward.

Enkrid had no choice but to counter on the fly. The last loud thud was the sound of their foreheads meeting.

Both their foreheads turned bright red, almost as if a bump would form.

How could one read and grasp an opponent’s move before moving, and still counter it?

From that point on, they could only respond with techniques ingrained in their bodies.

Rem, inwardly impressed by Enkrid’s counter, kept quiet but didn’t look pleased.

For the past few days, Enkrid had been learning to break Will, which he had just awakened.

He didn’t want to show that he had been contemplating it.

He didn’t want to praise him too much, for fear that Enkrid would lose his drive to improve.

Of course, that would not happen, but Rem rationalized it to himself before speaking.

“See, this is how it breaks. So, don’t use it recklessly.”

Next came Audin.

“Hehe, brother. Every technique has a flaw.”

He used a more simple and brute-force method to break Enkrid’s Will.

He charged up close and initiated a grappling match. The strength of the brute force was stronger than Enkrid’s Heart of Might.

Audin smoothly applied a joint lock, attempting to dislocate Enkrid’s shoulder, but Enkrid applied what he had learned and bent his fingers, slapping his palm upward to escape.

Their spar continued in a similar fashion, both of them rolling around on the ground, covered in dust.

In the end, Enkrid lost.

“What will you do when you’re this close?”

Audin, with his cheekbone swollen and one eye bruised, asked. Enkrid’s knee was also on the verge of breaking. If he pushed any harder, it would be over. So, he had to admit defeat. However, he had painted Audin’s eye and cheekbone blue.

“Mm.”

Enkrid nodded. There was still much to learn.

Ragna stepped in next.

He used a simpler approach.

It was a fatal strike that even seeing and understanding couldn’t prevent.

To be honest, it was even more savage than the swordplay shown by Rearvart.

“Are you thinking of sending it toward your side?”

Seeing that, Audin was impressed.

“That guy’s really insane.”

Rem, who had a broken head, mocked him and said,

“Better that he didn’t die.”

Ragna spoke calmly. Enkrid wiped the cold sweat off his neck.

He almost repeated today.

Although he raised his sword to block, the sword almost pierced his chest. Had he not been wearing his bandage-type armor, he would have been bleeding.

Not that he was dissatisfied.

He understood what they were saying.

‘Any technique should be used constantly to embed it into the body.’

In truth, the three were busy proving that they weren’t being outdone, but Enkrid accepted it that way.

After all, if the interpretation was better than the dream, then it was all good.

While immersed in training, a young boy entered, looking nervously at him.

“Are you, Demon Slayer, Hero of the Nation, Guardian of the Border Guard, King’s Close Friend, and the one who dreams of becoming a Free Knight, Enkrid?”

Enkrid doubted his ears for a moment. Wasn’t there something odd about all these titles?

He had heard that many were praising him after the battle, but he didn’t care to pay attention to it. It was better to focus on training.

“I’m usually called the Undying Axe.”

He also had a nickname as a noble killer, given to him because of how fiercely he spoke to the nobles who approached him.

The shadow-walking guard was Jaxon.

There was also the white lion beastman, Dunbakel.

Though he was beastfolk, his appearance resembled a lion, so he was given that nickname, which surprisingly, Dunbakel liked.

Ragna called him the Merciless Sword.

Of course, he didn’t care much about it.

“Wouldn’t ‘Guide Ragna’ suit you better?”

However, when he asked that, he sometimes made it seem as though he was crazier than Rem.

Audin had a similar nickname as before.

Was it ‘The Great Bear’?

He’d heard that it looked that way from a distance.

Audin only smiled without saying anything, though he didn’t seem happy.

Enkrid looked at the young boy who had called him.

“Just Enkrid or Mad Platoon Commander would be fine.”

While the official name of his unit was the Border Guard Independent Combat Squadron, Enkrid himself started calling it the Mad Platoon.

After all, everyone under him was a madman.

He was the only one who could be considered normal.

The approaching boy spoke nervously.

“My master wishes to meet with you. If you have time... Ah, if it’s inconvenient, I can come back when you’re free, or... could you tell me when it would be convenient for you...?”

Enkrid didn’t want to make the boy uncomfortable. Gently placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, he asked,

“Who is your master?”

“Oh, Lord Somerset.”

It was the first time he’d heard the name. Wondering what it was about, Enkrid nodded.

He really didn’t want to make this boy uncomfortable.

The boy moved nervously, shaking his legs, and spoke with a look of admiration in his eyes.

Enkrid followed behind him.

“Another noble bastard?”

Rem spoke from behind. Enkrid gestured for him to step back.

It would be better for him to quietly talk the situation down rather than watching Rem cause trouble.

After all, it was someone who had come to find him.