WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 269: Preparation and Readiness

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The two young Self-Defense Force guards at the village entrance looked at each other, then faced forward again.

One of them, a young guard who had been holding a leather coif at an angle, plopped it onto his head and spoke. There was something limp and slack in his attitude.

"You are not wrong, but..."

Then the guard beside him, the one with the sharper eyes, stepped in.

"We should ask inside first, so wait a bit."

One of the two went in, and even while they waited, Jaxon kept talking without pause.

"No, really, there are no Demon Creatures around this village, and can you not smell that? It is dinner time already. We have been chewing jerky for four days. We will make it worth your while, so please cut us some slack."

He was gently coaxing the young guard who had stayed behind. The boy had big, innocent-looking eyes.

He gave a tiny nod. He was tempted, but he still did not let them in so easily.

"I cannot do that..., but if you wait here, I think they will pass it along inside..."

He had a habit of trailing off at the end of every sentence, which made things frustrating, but Jaxon did not mind.

"I see!"

He just nodded happily.

Enkrid kept finding new reasons to be impressed in real time.

'Why is this bastard so good at this?'

It felt like Kraiss had switched faces and come here himself.

Still, did villages usually control entry this tightly?

Some did.

That happened when there was danger nearby, or when they were at war with another village.

But this village did not look like one of those.

"Please understand..., a wandering swordsman caused trouble last time..., and one Frog did too..."

That came from the timid guard. Nobody had asked, but he kept talking while watching their reactions, so he seemed very meek.

Enkrid had a pretty good guess who that Frog was.

So he acted like he had just picked something up by chance, then went and caused trouble?

As Enkrid watched the stammering guard, word came from inside.

The sharp-eyed one who had gone in came striding back and shouted:

"You can come in!"

Permission was granted. Jaxon immediately broke into a broad smile.

The act was so smooth it was almost unbelievable.

Thinking about it, maybe that was only natural.

'Back in the unit, he always looked like the guy who scratched every itch for everyone.'

Then at some point, he cleanly cut people off.

And he did it in no time.

After that, rumors spread that he took every Krona he earned and dumped it into brothels.

He kept heading to the market streets and not returning to the barracks, so people talked.

Enkrid never believed those rumors.

If Jaxon had fallen for a prostitute, he would have brought her back.

Would he really just keep going there in silence like that?

Only people close to him knew the truth.

Anyone who did not know him would think he was just another common soldier, pouring life-earned Krona into a brothel.

Of course, Jaxon never moved that simply.

Some days he spent all day in a tea house. Other days he sipped beer and drifted around gambling tables.

He looked exactly like an idle loafer killing time.

At least to outsiders.

Was he doing all of that for a reason? Was he actually doing something else?

Enkrid had noticed long ago, but never cared much.

'He has his own things to do.'

This kind of acting, those shifts in expression, copying Kraiss in an instant, all of that was part of Jaxon’s strengths.

Walking without sound, moving without a trace, swinging a sword without killing intent.

All of that was Jaxon.

Enkrid went over what he already knew. He still had no reason to push him away. No reason to pry into him either.

Enkrid was the Independent Company Commander, and Jaxon served under him.

So as long as he handled missions and did his job, that was enough.

From that angle, Jaxon was an excellent company member, and could even be called a good teacher.

Even if he ever turned his blade on Enkrid, Enkrid would ask twice first.

He was even willing to let it hit once.

That was how much he had received from him.

More than anything, Enkrid cared less about Jaxon and more about this.

"Oho, that is quite a talent."

What surprised him was Sinar, tossing out little exclamations at his side.

What had this elf been doing that she had not found a village giving off such an obvious drug smell?

As they walked in, the young guard behind them gave a warning.

"Do not cause trouble. Just because you look like you can use a sword does not mean you can charge in here. You will pay in blood."

Most villages kept mercenaries or armed groups who could handle weapons.

As long as there was no special crisis, that was normal.

This village showed signs of careful maintenance everywhere.

The fence was high, double-layered, and clearly repaired on a regular schedule.

Thorny bushes were grown and woven into the outer fence, and the height was substantial.

Ordinary Demon Creatures or Magic Beasts would not even dare approach.

And like they had seen at the entrance, the gate was narrow, just wide enough for one wagon to squeeze through.

To strangers, it looked close to a normal village. To Enkrid, it did not.

People who did not know him thought Enkrid was just a sword-crazed lunatic, but Kraiss and a few close others knew better.

"The captain is smart. He just is not in the habit of using it."

That was true.

Most of all, Enkrid had strong instinct and intuition.

Along with Sensory Art, he could sense uneasy air and even smell it.

That was one reason he survived so long with unimpressive skill.

And now he had eyes to judge opponents and senses trained even further.

Enkrid looked around.

This village did not farm. It was built on a high plateau along a mountain ridge, and there were no slash-and-burn fields either.

Then what were they living on?

He saw a few goats, but one glance told him this village had well over a few hundred households.

On this continent, if people wanted to survive threats from Demon Creatures and Magic Beasts, they had to live together.

Building wide fences and setting up fields inside was common sense.

Even if they made separate orchards, they needed fences there too, and troops stationed there.

If they did not want to hand everything over to monsters, they had to do it.

If a Demon Creature or Magic Beast colony appeared, that would all become useless anyway.

Still, the basic fact remained. To survive, people had to gather.

The village population looked like at least three or four hundred.

More than half of them were young.

'And no farmland.'

They kept little livestock too.

The ratio of middle-aged people was overwhelmingly high for a population this size.

And he had heard the village head was a young, pretty woman.

Nothing about this place was normal.

Yet there were no rumors about this village nearby.

A few peddlers should have said something.

If a village wanted to hide its tracks and keep rumors from spreading, what would it do?

Enkrid thought for a moment.

Beside him, Jaxon was still channeling Kraiss and happily running his mouth.

"No way, they sell goat milk. Imagine how good cheese from this would be..., and they even have cheese!"

Cheese made from goat milk turned a deep brown shade.

If stored well and eaten later, it tasted sweet and rich.

Jaxon stressed that point and pulled out several bolts of fine silk they had brought to fake being merchants.

Watching that, Enkrid sank into thought again.

How to stop rumors.

'Bury everyone who comes.'

And if someone could not be handled by force? Give them what they wanted and send them away.

Was that why this place had stayed hidden?

Then again, this was west of Border Guard, and not even a shortcut mountain route.

Some people might say that made it safe from bandits and thug groups.

'Is that really true?'

The level of the Self-Defense Force gathered here was unusual.

Enkrid stood casually and watched people pass.

The funniest one was a woman in a wide skirt walking by.

'Hey, what are you hiding under that skirt?'

The weight on her right and left foot was different, and her stride length did not match.

Enkrid could have bet Kraiss’s tongue that she had a blade on her right thigh long enough to pierce straight through a man’s torso.

"Interesting place."

"Try this."

The moment Enkrid muttered, Jaxon flicked something into his mouth.

Even while prepared, Enkrid only registered the touch after contact.

Separate from the sharpness of Sensory Art, Jaxon’s hands were still hard to detect.

It was a piece of brown cheese, placed directly into his mouth.

He rolled it around a few times. Instead of dryness, only a clean sweetness spread across his tongue.

It was well-made cheese.

Someone here clearly had skilled hands.

"A fine village!"

Kraiss, no, Jaxon said it with exaggerated gestures, and the merchant selling cheese smiled and replied:

"Is that so?"

The smiling merchant was missing one front tooth, so his breath whistled through with a shh-shh sound.

It looked like a simple smile, but Enkrid knew this one was not easy either.

Even while talking, the man’s hands moved, and his palms were packed with thick calluses.

Those were calluses from handling weapons for a long time.

As Enkrid watched and pretended not to notice, the elf muttered beside him.

"Enki, this feels like we came on a trip to celebrate our sacred marriage."

On the continent, they called that a honeymoon trip.

Of course, the mood was nothing like that. The elf seemed to have a tongue that sprouted thorns if she did not joke.

Enkrid let it pass with generous patience.

On the surface, the atmosphere looked perfectly normal. Anyone who knew what to look for could tell otherwise.

Sinar was exceptionally sensitive, so she knew too.

Several eyes were watching them.

Very discreetly.

Between alleys, between rooftops, through window cracks, people were hiding everywhere.

"There is also a liquor made from goat milk sold at the inn. Make sure to try that too. There is only one inn, so you will not get confused."

"Thank you."

Jaxon smiled brightly and handed over a few more Copper Coins. The merchant grinned again. That missing front tooth stood out.

After they made one full round through the village and headed to the inn, Jaxon kept bursting out with admiration.

"It is a small village, but the people are lively!"

Enkrid translated it in his head.

The population is high for a village this size, and they are all trained.

"So this is how houses are built here? The architecture is unusual."

The inn is in a perfect position to be surrounded.

"Even the women are full of healthy strength!"

The women are trained too.

"Is it not almost sunset already? If we want to start early at dawn, we should sleep early. People here seem like they do not sleep at night."

If they moved carelessly at night, they would get noticed, so dawn movement would be better.

He kept chattering nonstop, so nobody suspected anything in what he said.

"Rem, if that friend had come too, this would have become a real mess. These are kind people, so they probably do not like rough types."

If they caused a disturbance, it would be hard to do the job properly. People would keep watching them.

It was not coded speech, but somehow only Enkrid understood it like code.

And he did not even say it in one straight line. He mixed it into random chatter.

They entered the inn, asked for dinner and goat-milk liquor, and carried their things to the rooms.

The two men went into one room together.

"Why are the rooms split like this?"

Sinar complained, but only entered the next room after Finn grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

Jaxon stood by the wooden-framed window. The creaking hinges looked like they needed oil.

He stopped there, looked outside for a moment, then turned around.

And when he turned, Kraiss’s spirit was gone from inside him.

The possession had ended.

His expression alone made that clear.

Kraiss had left Jaxon’s body.

"Hm."

Enkrid admired him again. At this level, he could probably become the lead actor in one of those stage plays they occasionally put on in the capital.

If a playwright saw him, they would be desperate to snatch him up.

"Is something wrong?" Jaxon asked when Enkrid kept staring.

"No."

Enkrid had nothing more to say. What was there to tell someone who had already done everything well?

But Jaxon had things to say.

No, many things.

What he had grasped was not just one or two details.

Privately, he was almost impressed by how thoroughly these people had prepared.

Still, as always, Jaxon spoke in a flat tone.

"They will put sleeping drugs in the food."

Jaxon predicted their move. Enkrid wondered if they would really drug them right after arrival, but there was no downside to preparing as if they would.

"Should we tell the next room too?"

Jaxon lightly shook his head.

"Is there not an elf there?"

Their senses were sharp. Taste would be no exception.

That was why elf food was blander than necessary.

There was no need for heavy seasoning.

Even a little seasoning was enough for them to catch flavor and aroma.

That did not mean they were not gourmets.

Because they were sensitive, they were just as attached to good music and excellent food.

"They will handle it."

Jaxon spoke, checked the bed, took out a small bottle from his coat, and oiled the hinges.

He was making sure there would be no squeaking sound later.

Meticulous.

Walking and moving quietly was not done by the body alone.

'Preparation and readiness.'

One side of Enkrid’s mind was always occupied by swordsmanship. He had already given rooms away to swords, knights, dreams, and things like that.

Among those occupying that space, a few whispered.

'Is the Correct Sword not the same?'

That was true. It was not a revelation, but he could still spare a brief thought for the sword.

While Enkrid drifted into thought, Jaxon finished every bit of setup.

He oiled the hinges, checked under the bed, and even tapped the ceiling carefully with his fingernails.

Then he spread a wide cloth directly above the bed and fixed it by pushing needles into the corners.

Enkrid did not ask what he was doing.

For a brief moment, he had sunk into his own world, busy swinging his sword.

Jaxon felt at ease because Enkrid did not ask.

Explaining every little thing would have been annoying.

'Looking at it this way, do we work together pretty well?'

When working, there were times when it mattered to judge how well two people synced.

Jaxon knew that well.

Then he thought again.

'Who would he not work well with?'

Enkrid worked smoothly with Audin, with Rem, and even with Sinar.

That was the kind of man the captain was.

So he seemed completely unsuited for this kind of work, yet at the same time he seemed like he could do it well enough.

As Jaxon moved, he pictured what would happen next.

Not things he understood through thought, but things he knew through experience.

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