WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 290: Duty and Responsibility (2)

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"A contract, we'll hire you!"

The rain had stopped, but the air was still damp. Every morning, they woke feeling sick from the sticky sweat clinging to their skin.

By noon, it got even worse.

When the sun rose overhead, the humidity thickened and a smothering heat settled in.

Under that wet noon sunlight, through the sweat, discomfort, and heavy air, the village headman shouted in panic.

"We'll pay whatever you want!"

The bandit who looked like the boss gave a snort of laughter.

His attitude was clear. Come at us if you dare.

When the mercenary captain gave no answer, the headman's face twisted. He looked close to tears.

"Please."

Several tense villagers stared at the mercenaries with desperate eyes.

Still, no answer came.

The captain swallowed a short grunt.

'Refusing?'

Enkrid looked at him too.

Their original job had ended this morning, and all the mercenary troop had to do now was leave.

Then one sharp-eyed mercenary sensed a gaze and caught a scouting bandit.

Without even needing torture, the bastard spilled his group's location and numbers.

They were not famous, but there were a lot of them.

A little over a hundred.

Even if they combined every villager and every mercenary, they had maybe thirty fighters at best.

The numbers were more than two to one.

The mercenary captain thought it over.

"Mercenaries sell their swords for gold. We do not fight without a contract. This was not contracted in advance, and this is not a contract, this is a rescue. We do not have that kind of loyalty."

For a mercenary, he was decent. He had some honor.

As a mercenary captain, he truly was.

So his choice was reasonable.

There was no reason to risk his life.

"Wise."

The bandit chief let out a quiet breath of relief.

Of course he did.

If those mercenary bastards committed and charged, the bandits would take losses too.

No matter how well they fought, at least ten would die.

No, more than twenty.

That captain looked dangerous too.

Winning was one thing. Losses were another.

If that had not been true, they would have wiped everyone out already.

If the scout had not been caught, they would have started only after the mercenaries left anyway.

"Let him go."

At the captain's order, a subordinate released the captured bandit.

"No, what kind of justice is this?!"

"They're going to kill all of us!"

"Please!"

"Why?!"

"We'll give you everything we have! We even have jewels!"

The villagers shouted. One even tried to grab a pant leg, but had no chance.

Thud!

"Come closer and I'll cut you."

One mercenary spoke in a murderous tone. He looked like he would not hesitate to slash.

At this point, just by not siding with the bandits and splitting the village's wealth, the mercenaries had already shown honor.

The mercenary captain was wise.

"Enough. If you come any closer, we'll draw our weapons too. Everyone back off."

He sorted the situation quickly.

The mercenary troop moved to one side, and the bandits watched.

Enkrid stood in the middle.

He had come as part of the mercenary troop too, so he could have stepped out and left. But when his gaze drifted, he saw that cheeky little brat.

The crazy little girl who said that in three years she would leave the village and become a herb gatherer.

"Mister, let's go."

What a brazen kid.

She should have been begging to be saved, yet her eyes kept scanning all around. In the middle of it, she even showed him the back of her hand and waved him off.

It was not the face of someone who had given up. She was probably plotting an escape.

Enkrid had faced many bandits. He had enough experience. So he knew.

They would all die. One extra hand from him would not change that. Then should he keep his hand out of it?

Should he turn away and walk off too?

Should he throw away what he wanted to protect?

What was a knight?

'What was it that I wanted?'

If he turned away here? If he looked away?

Nothing would be possible.

How many times had he only watched because he lacked the skill?

Should he do that again?

He did not know. He had looked away before, even knowing what was happening, yet this time it lodged in his chest like a hook.

"Hey, let's go."

A mercenary behind him tapped his shoulder. Rough face, warm heart.

The kind of guy who had helped villagers with small chores during their stay.

Even so, he had no hesitation about turning away. That was basic common sense for swordsmen on this continent.

Men who walked into death were rare. Men who stood their ground knowing they would die were fools.

And if the reason was not gold, but some ridiculous romantic idea about protecting the weak.

'They'll call me insane.'

He already knew it without hearing it.

Even so, he could not turn away.

If he stepped back here, if he looked away from even this, he would never move forward again.

That was how it felt.

"Hey."

Had he survived this long only because the goddess of fortune pitied him?

Still, he did not think she had ever given him a kiss.

If she was going to help, she could have dumped a mountain of luck on him.

Ridiculous thought.

Tap, tap, shaaaaa.

Rain started pouring again.

"Enki, you bastard."

The mercenary captain got angry.

What he said next stayed in Enkrid's head for a long time.

"They won't die. Even if we leave them, they won't die. Why kill a group this big? If it were you, what would you gain from killing people? Are you a pervert? They won't kill them. At worst they'll sell them to slave traders. Being slaves would be better for them too!"

Life in a swamp village was not exactly abundant, aside from the fact that they were alive.

Still, he could not say slavery was better.

"I was going to take you into our mercenary troop, you idiot."

The captain pulled out.

There was nothing else to do. They were not close enough for him to beat sense into Enkrid and drag him away, and it was not his place to meddle that far.

Besides, Enkrid was only a sword-using guide, not some great talent.

Just a stupid fool.

A moron who could not see one step ahead.

"Why?"

The headman asked with eyes full of disbelief. Before gratitude, there was simple shock.

"You see the one standing third from the left of that man over there?"

"Mm, yes, I see him."

"He is my enemy."

In truth, it was his first time seeing him.

At the word enemy, that bandit blinked and studied Enkrid's face. With a face like that, he did not seem like someone you would forget.

"You from that mine village, by any chance?"

Enkrid did not know what that meant, but he nodded.

"Fuck, so there are survivors from there too."

So they had been wreaking havoc all over, not just here.

Then it was fine to kill them all.

He might die before that happened, but first he had to harden his heart and steady his will.

"Really?"

The headman whispered by his ear.

"Fake. Joke."

"...Are you insane?"

Enkrid let out a snort of laughter.

He had already decided to fight, so what did the reason matter?

The headman was so stunned he could not even think of stopping the departing mercenary troop.

"That bastard is not our responsibility."

The mercenary captain said it.

"He's staying behind alone?"

The bandit chief asked back.

The mercenary troop withdrew.

Two mercenaries turned around.

"Goddamn it, what is wrong with you, kid?"

"Ger?"

"I'm staying. This bastard's stuck in my head. If things go bad, I'll at least grab him and run."

"You son of a bitch, if that's your plan then I should stay."

"Pit, you too?"

"He feels like a younger brother. Can't ignore that."

The captain's brow tightened. In his heart, he wanted to stay too, but if he did, the whole troop might be wiped out.

He said two was the limit, and if anyone else wanted to stay, they could quit the troop.

That was all.

Ger and Pit.

Two mercenaries stayed.

"I'm older than you, though?"

When Enkrid said that to Pit, the swordsman with thick swollen eyelids and an ugly face, the man who loved kids, replied:

"Looking at our faces, I'm obviously the older one."

That made Enkrid chuckle.

It had only been about a month, but those two mercenaries who had gotten to know Enkrid could not bring themselves to walk away.

Then Enkrid drew his sword and blocked the bandits.

"Mister, are you crazy?"

It would be lucky if they were sold as slaves. But that little brat, who had been watching those bastards stare at children with filthy eyes, knew no good future was waiting.

"You fall for me, brat? Proper manners say you watch a man's fight."

Ger stepped in and tossed out that line in response.

"What nonsense."

The kid did not even care.

"Halfway."

Enkrid gave a rough answer to her "crazy" and raised his sword.

It really was insane.

Would he gain anything from protecting them? No.

Would this get him a medal? Not a chance.

The kingdom nobles probably did not even know things like this happened here.

They were busy filling their own bellies.

Enkrid knew nobles.

What if someone asked a nearby lord to subjugate the bandits?

Say there was some truly kind lord who listened.

By then, every villager would already be slaves, corpses, or crippled wrecks, sold off or buried.

More than that, the local lord here was not the kind to send soldiers after bandits whose location was not even known.

Conclusion. If left alone, everyone dies. Other than Enkrid, no one here would step forward.

"That one can be sold too. Good-looking."

The bandit chief looked pleased instead.

Enkrid fought like mad.

Using every trick he had, he cut down three men. While facing the fourth, a club smashed his head and broke his stance.

Ger and Pit fought like lunatics too. Ger swung a single axe with force, and Pit drove his long spear again and again, punching holes in several bandits.

"If you're not planning to be dragged away like this, wake up, all of you!"

The headman shouted bravely.

A thrown axe flew in right after and buried itself in his skull, killing him.

Still, they fought.

Some villagers grabbed weapons. They rushed with long pokers and swung logging axes.

"Throw!"

The little girl who dreamed of becoming a herb gatherer fought too. With younger kids and kids around her age, she picked up stones and threw them.

It felt like something might happen. If luck was with them, maybe they could make a chance to run.

If the mercenary captain changed his mind and launched a surprise attack?

That did not happen.

"Shoot."

Fiviviviving!

Ten archers. Pit died under the incoming arrows. One unlucky arrow pierced his throat.

"Ghk."

Because of that, no one heard his last words.

Did Ger and Pit not know they would die? They did, but they had gambled on a reversal.

Ger even had a plan.

Right before the fight, he said that if an opening appeared, he would seize the bandit chief as a hostage.

In the mercenary troop, Ger never lost one on one. It sounded possible.

Pit was fast with both hands and feet, fighting like lightning as he darted around.

One would shake the line, the other would grab the chief. That was the plan.

It failed.

That chief bastard was strong and skilled.

When Ger saw a gap and charged, the chief raised a sword and smashed straight into the axe.

Clang!

Sparks flew, and Ger's face twisted.

His opponent was far stronger than expected.

"Shit."

Ger despaired. Pit had held on until an arrow lodged in the back of his neck and went down first, so hope vanished quickly.

"You sons of bitches!"

Ger charged in one last desperate rush.

"Where do you think you're going."

The bandit chief did not get careless.

He stayed calm, moved his men, and kept the encirclement tight.

He would not allow anyone to escape.

In the end, that was how it went.

Ger's neck was cut by the chief's sword.

"You thought you'd win? What were you even hoping for when you charged in?"

Enkrid resisted to the end, but the chief gripped his throat with bare hands.

He saw the sword that had slipped from his hand lying on the muddy ground.

He also saw, off to one side, that little brat who had kept charging in to the end, her skull split open and blood gushing out.

"She died too."

Enkrid's mouth moved on its own. The chief followed his gaze, then answered.

"She resisted hard. She bit whenever we touched her and caused a whole scene."

The bandit spoke calmly. It was a world where people killed and were killed. That was normal here.

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