A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

The appreciation for the white stone was brief, and the earnest confession of love for Shinar was also brief.

Krais asked, ”Who did you bring back this time? You went to the Pen-Hanil Mountains, fought a Salamander, and won, right?”

The Border Guard’s standing army had also fought the fire-forms.

Krais had been briefed on the entire situation.

At his words, Enkrid nodded impassively.

It was true that he had brought someone back, and it was true that he had fought a Salamander.

So, was it a relief for now?

It probably was.

Krais thought so, and then he was surprised again when he was introduced to Themares, and surprised once more when he was told he was a Dragonkin.

And seeing his appearance…”Wouldn’t a duty to work at a salon arise?” he muttered.

It was a very Krais-like remark.

Themares, on the surface, possessed a unique beauty that rivaled Shinar’s.

His vertically slit eyes held a mystery, and his well-proportioned nose and mouth belonged to a face that anyone would consider handsome.

His frame seemed slender, but he was tall, with long arms and legs.

Ragna had assessed that he had arms well-suited for a longsword, and Audin had called it a well-balanced body.

And on top of that, lemon-blond hair that shone white, reflecting the sunlight.

A bright and warm feeling, but at the same time, his eyes were otherworldly.

’This will sell.’

If he just debuted at the salon, he would be as explosively popular as Enkrid or Jaxen.

He might look slender on the outside, but the defined muscles of his forearms would also be one of his charms.

A well-balanced body would be a pleasure just to look at.

’A face and body are talents too.’

Krais believed so.

However, it was just a shame that those with such talents were interested in completely different things.

’It would all work out if they just debuted.’

That’s how Krais saw it, but naturally, Themares showed not a shred of interest.

”My duty does not lie there.”

He just said it bluntly and looked away.

The Dragonkin had the ability to read minds.

He felt a pure and intense desire from Krais, but he had no intention of playing along with that desire.

Krais smacked his lips, finding it a great shame.

”Weren’t you worried about the demon’s retaliation until just a moment ago?”

Abnaier asked, seeing Krais.

”I was,” Krais answered calmly.

His eyes alternated between Enkrid, Jaxen, and the Dragonkin, and then they reached Rem and Audin.

Those two also had their own unique charms.

”And now?”

Abnaier asked again.

”I am.”

”You don’t look like it.”

”If there’s something more important, you can postpone such things for a while.”

The worry was still there.

However, Krais had now learned to swallow his worry and speak.

It was said that anxiety and worry are like holding a cup full of water and not putting it down.

The work to be done was already set.

Then he would just have to do as he had been doing and put down the water glass filled with anxiety for a while.

And so Krais did.

The pretext of the salon was one of the elements that let his mind rest.

There was another reason why Krais’s anxiety had been greatly soothed.

’They all came back in one piece.’

He had once again confirmed the extraordinary underlying strength of those who are called a catastrophe.

’The legendary Salamander.’

What if he later made this heroic tale into a song and had it sung at the salon?

It gave him the leisure to even have such thoughts.

Krais had, in his own way, grasped the military power of the people gathered around Enkrid.

No one knew in what way and how the military power of the Knight Order would be revealed in the future.

In any case, the party had returned, and the Salamander, though no one knew, had made its nest in the elven city.

Shinar complained of fatigue and asked to be carried several times, and Enkrid ignored her words and recommended a day of rest to the Dragonkin.

”Is there nothing but fighting in that head of yours?”

Shinar pleaded the truth, but no one listened with interest.

When had Enkrid ever been different?

All of this was familiar and natural to them.

The Dragonkin felt no mystery in all of this.

He was originally not interested in matters unrelated to his duty.

But now, he had taken an interest in one human.

And so, a question came out.

”You like to fight very much.”

It was so on the outside, and it was so even when he read his mind.

As the Dragonkin spoke, he also knew that the opponent did not simply like to ’fight.’

”It seems you like a challenge more than a fight.”

Mind-reading.

It was a special talent unique to the Dragonkin, based on insight.

He felt what the human named Enkrid desired.

So it was all the more interesting.

’His will is lofty and shining.’

At its foundation is a mental strength that does not break and moves forward, even while repeatedly being challenged.

It was a form he had never seen in any human or other intelligent being.

’How can this be?’

It would only be possible if one met countless difficulties that could only be overcome by pouring out everything one had, and also survived them.

’As long as one doesn’t die.’

Theoretically, it is possible.

The Dragonkin’s insight was indeed extraordinary.

He did not know that Enkrid repeated his days, but he had glimpsed the core of it.

Not that he had any thought of digging further to unearth the secret.

The Dragonkin saw the result, not the process.

He simply felt an interest in it.

The Dragonkin race was a species that possessed several specialties.

To list them, the first was the Word of Command, the second was Dragon Scale, and the third was Dragon Eye.

If the Word of Command was to naturally suppress an opponent with will, Dragon Scale was to change the skin into a hard armor that could not be scratched by an ordinary sword strike.

And finally, Dragon Eye meant he had an eye that could read the opponent’s will.

Their eyes, resembling those of a reptile, looked unique, but the reason they were called Dragon Eyes was because of their insight.

The moment Themares saw his opponent, he read their will and the beginning of their movements.

The Dragonkin were a race born with insight.

***

It was exactly one day after the matter with the Salamander had ended.

From the crack of dawn, the Dragonkin quietly observed Enkrid, who was drenched in sweat.

A shining will shakes the emotions of a Dragonkin.

It did not show on the outside, but Themares was enjoying himself just by watching this human.

And Luagarne, a Frog who was also watching a human’s dawn training, felt as if she had found a comrade.

”Aren’t Dragonkin uninterested in the affairs of others?”

Luagarne asked, watching Enkrid, Audin, and Theresa abuse their bodies with equipment made of carved iron.

Enkrid’s dawn training partners were usually Audin and Theresa, and sometimes Ropord and Fel would join.

Of course, other unit members also participated as they pleased.

”Excellent, brother,” Audin said, swinging a short iron ball with a handle up and down.

His well-defined upper body muscles rippled with the movement.

’A trained body.’

A body that looked so even to a Dragonkin’s eyes.

A body like a lump of iron, packed with small, detailed muscles between the large ones.

Naturally, Enkrid’s body was no less, though the difference in size was clear.

Audin’s response was because Enkrid was repeating his training without overdoing it.

Because they had fought a battle yesterday, today’s dawn training was a light warm-up.

Luagarne, having thrown the question, looked ahead and waited patiently.

Themares uttered the language he had grown accustomed to in just two days.

”That is correct.”

A friend who is a little slow to answer.

Luagarne thought, but she didn’t particularly mind.

When it came to being indifferent about things outside their own interests, Frogs were no less than Dragonkin.

A characteristic of these two was that they accepted their opponent as they were, whatever they looked like.

”Then why?”

And yet she asked again.

Curiosity is a Frog’s weapon.

”It is interesting,” a short and concise answer came back.

Luagarne thought as she heard the answer.

’A demonic charm that even tempts a Dragonkin.’

It wouldn’t be out of place to give him such a nickname.

She also thought that nicknames like Monster Slayer or Beelrog Slayer should be thrown away.

Enkrid’s nickname is the Demonic Knight.

That’s right.

Now, hadn’t he even made a demon woo him?

Of course, the wooing of a demon is hard to welcome.

They had charged in recklessly and awakened the Salamander.

If their own military power had been even a little insufficient…

’A tragic reality would have come.’

Because he did not want to face that reality, Enkrid would be drenched in sweat today as well.

Luagarne realized anew the reason why Enkrid endured and lived through today.

’Only by not spending any ’today’ in vain…’

…could he protect what was behind him and move towards what he wanted.

He knew it with his head and with his heart.

That was all.

As Enkrid was drenched in sweat, Themares also slowly heated his blood.

A Dragonkin has such a skill.

He stood still, tensing and relaxing his muscles to be ready to move at any time.

He heated his blood and moderately relaxed his muscles.

He was in a combat stance.

”I am ready,” Themares said.

Enkrid nodded and stood before him.

And so, the two faced each other in the training ground after just one day.

Was there a need for more words?

There was not.

The two drew their weapons.

The blue light of Dawnforged and the white longsword immediately intertwined.

TUNG!

As the blades imbued with Will clashed, a gust of wind rose around them.

He had stabbed and cut, aiming for an opening several times, but the Dragonkin showed a solid defense.

Enkrid slowed his hand for a moment and asked, ”What is that sword?”

It was a sword that was fine even after meeting Dawnforged several times.

The material did not look like a normal metal.

”It is made by pulling out one of my bones and forging it,” Themares answered.

A Dragonkin’s inscribed weapon had a rather intense side to it.

”Does the bone grow back?”

”There is an unnecessary bone near the tail.”

When asked if it was common for Dragonkin to make weapons from their own bones, he nodded again.

There was nothing uninteresting in the stories he heard while sparring.

For several days, the two clashed again and again, talking in between.

Should it be called a spar that satisfied both Enkrid and Themares?

However, it did not cross a certain line.

By the standards of the Madmen Knight Order, it was a very light spar.

”He’s pretty good,” Rem said after watching the first day’s spar.

On the second day, Ragna said with a twitch of his eyebrow, ”His skills are improving.”

Jaxen just watched with an unreadable expression, and Fel and Ropord also showed their fighting spirit.

”Shall I show you the taste of my axe?” Rem even jumped in, talking like a third-rate bandit.

Fel, Ropord, and Theresa also charged in once each.

”He really has no smell at all. It’s strange. Are all Dragonkin like that?”

Dunbakel said, finding the odorless but distinct presence of the Dragonkin strange.

Somehow, Themares had mingled with everyone.

And what was the atmosphere in the city like during that time?

It was peaceful.

They acted as if the previous battle had been nothing.

If one were to ask the reason for acting so impassively, in truth, there was nothing grand.

The standing army had fought fire-forms, but they didn’t consider it a particularly great event.

That was all.

The Pen-Hanil Mountains was a place where monsters popped out morning and evening.

So, even if a horde of ice monsters suddenly appeared tomorrow morning, they would probably just take it in stride.

In fact, every winter, giants with white fur called Yeti would come down from the mountains.

It just didn’t get much attention because their numbers weren’t large.

A Drake appearing might have caused a panic, but that was a thing of the past.

The level of the standing army was clearly different from before, and the Madmen Knight Order was stationed here.

If a Drake appeared, the key issue would be how intact they could bring back its hide.

It meant that a military force capable of that was staying in the city.

Even without the Madmen Knight Order, it was a task that could be handled by just the elite of the standing army.

Of course, it was only Krais and those in charge of the city’s budget who would nitpick about the intact value of a Drake or monster hide.

The standing army itself just fought.

”Still, he even took down a Salamander?”

At least Garet Guyro, this man knew the truth well, so he was very surprised.

’It’s different.’

The Border Guard was too different from other cities.

It was different from the cities under the Duke of Okto, even Nauril, and the trade cities said to be the best to live in because of their wealth. Was this just because there was no battle with Aspen?

’Or is it because of that big-eyed friend, Krais?’

If you look at the other side of a phenomenon, the reason for it is not just one.

The world is not so simple.

However, there is a biggest reason.

’Enkrid.’

The man who had become the commander of the Madmen Knight Order enjoyed teaching what he had learned and mastered.

He made them feel that building stamina through things like a hell-run was a matter of course.

To this, Krais’s efforts and several geographical factors must have been added.

’And incidents constantly arose, and they responded and overcame them.’

The old adage of the continent must have also applied to this city.

’Survive, and you will grow stronger.’

Whether a mercenary or a merchant, that’s what happens.

’This city.’

It had survived and become a hard rock.

The atmosphere was different from when he was here.

’It’s not my place to say anything now.’

Garet Guyro was a man of the wild.

He was not a politician, not a soldier, but a bard.

He had also made a song about the demonic knight who had blocked the Salamander, but his song had not become a hit because he hadn’t suddenly gained a talent for composing just from experiencing a harsh event once.

”What a shame. I should be the one to tell the legend.”

In any case, Garet left, and a new intelligent being had joined the Border Guard.