A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 302

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 302: Whose Side Is the Green Pearl Unit On?

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"Not good."

That was the answer to, "Are you alright?"

Graham lay in bed and only lifted his head to look at Enkrid.

He had been stabbed deep in the back and could barely move.

In other words, the Border Guard standing army had lost its commander.

They had to fight without their city lord, battalion commander, and overall commanding officer.

"You do not need me anyway."

Graham said it.

The lieutenant almost nodded in agreement. No, there were two lieutenants, and one of them actually did nod.

"That bastard is nodding."

"N-no, sir."

At one word from Graham, the lieutenant quickly switched from nodding to shaking his head.

Watching the little farce, Enkrid asked,

"So I am doing it?"

"If not you, then who?"

Graham realized it again.

'City lord in name only.'

Was there not someone else who was the city's real hero?

He was no normal man either. In this battle, he had cut down enemy commanders and led a pack of lunatics. But this man could still throw himself in to save a child.

Throwing himself in at that moment just to save a child.

'Pointless thing to do, but.'

That was exactly why he could trust him.

And exactly why there was no resentment.

Even right now,

"Then hand over the city lord seat."

even if Enkrid said something like that, he would gladly hand it over.

Of course, Enkrid would never say that. It was just a hallucination in his own head.

Even calling himself a city lord in name only did not sting. Strange.

He felt no jealousy toward the man in front of him.

Was it because he had watched him climb up from the bottom?

Or because he knew how this man swung his sword until his palms split open?

His skill had improved beyond comparison with the past, yet he still punished his palms the same way.

To envy a man like this would be the same as admitting you were trash and an idiot.

Maybe that was why.

'Maybe I just do not want to become trash.'

Graham settled on that conclusion. Still, there was something he wanted to ask.

"Why did you save that child?"

It had been dangerous. Meaningless.

There had been a flash and an explosion. One moment of carelessness and he would have died.

Yet the man in front of him had rolled while holding the child. He saved the child even after burning his back and shoulder.

Why? It was just one little kid.

One arrow, or doing nothing, and the child would have died anyway.

Still, he acted.

Graham could not understand everything Enkrid had done in that moment, but the result was simple. He saved the child.

He swung his sword for someone unrelated to him.

He seemed like someone out of a story.

Enkrid answered without hesitation.

"I did it because I wanted to."

His tone made it sound like nothing special.

This bastard really was an incredible lunatic.

Graham picked a petty fight for no reason.

"Answer your battalion commander politely, Company Commander. Did Rem rub off on you?"

"That is an insult. Are you asking me to challenge you to a duel?"

"Rem was a mistake."

"Yes, sir."

"Win and come back. If you return, I will personally stand at the front and welcome you at this victory parade."

"Should I be happy about being welcomed by an old man instead of a beauty?"

He seemed genuinely curious, and the dumb lieutenant nodded again.

Why was he agreeing to that?

"Get out."

Graham kicked Enkrid and the lieutenant out together.

As city lord, he worried about his city.

Enkrid saw that sense of responsibility in him. He liked it.

So,

"I will win and come back."

Enkrid said it on his way out.

Graham gave no reply. Still, there was no sign of worry in his eyes.

Outside, the snow was stopping. No one knew how long Azpen would keep watching, so they had to move soon.

As reinforcements for Green Pearl.

"I wish this snow would stop already, do you not think?"

The tactless lieutenant was impressively dense. He did not even realize the snowfall had bought them some breathing room.

How had this guy become a lieutenant?

"You need to grow some sense."

After that pointed advice, Enkrid turned away.

He saw the child's mother, then the wounded mercenary group in the city.

The mercenaries were staying at city inns.

Some promised to join the campaign, while others said they would remain independent mercenaries.

There were quite a few interesting people.

Edin Molsen was one of them.

"Be careful of my father."

He came out of nowhere and said that.

"You do realize that sounds the same as telling me to be careful of you, right?"

"It is not a warning. It is advice."

"Understood."

Enkrid let it pass. Was Count Molsen really the important thing right now?

No.

The order of priorities was obvious. The enemy now was Azpen. Azpen, coming in prepared to crush them.

"Do not forget what I said."

Edin Molsen repeated himself, so Enkrid replied cheerfully.

"By the way, your name was?"

"...You forgot again?"

Before Edin could blow up, Enkrid quickly moved and returned to the barracks.

"Got anything to eat? Anything? You know injured people need to eat well, right?"

The moment he stepped in, Rem greeted him. Like a baby bird waiting for its mother. A glutton obsessed with food.

He had just made a full round through town.

Partly for recovery, partly to check on the mercenaries who had stayed and fought after seeing him.

So he came back carrying bread, marmalade, seasoned jerky, and the like.

"They say if you die after eating, at least your complexion looks better."

"That is a western joke. You sure know odd things."

Rem snorted and stuffed bread into his mouth.

Watching him reminded Enkrid of Gielpin, whom he had met just before returning from the market.

That guy had seemed a little strange.

"Several spies got in, and we missed some of them."

That was what he said right away when he approached.

"I will monitor things more thoroughly."

The way he clenched his molars showed firm resolve.

Enkrid did not say much. He just wondered why these people were handling spy hunts.

Was that not the city guard's job?

Was it not? It sure seemed like it.

Anyway, Gielpin's eyes burned. He showed passion and drive, as if this was his calling, as if he had received a summons from god.

It had started with Kraiss's order, so it had nothing to do with any divine call.

"Uh, right."

"Maelrun is roughing up anyone who looks like they can use a blade. We will increase our guild members and put the city's nights completely under our feet."

Enkrid did not know it, but Gielpin had seen the battlefield too. He had watched the fight. Most of all, he had watched Enkrid.

He had already known Enkrid was impressive, but in this battle Enkrid felt different.

Standing at the front and taking blades head-on.

Facing enemy commanders and fighting them. That was impressive too, but the image that sank deepest into Gielpin's heart was Enkrid rolling on the ground while holding a child.

That scene would not leave his mind for days.

'Was there any reason to save that child?'

No.

Still, he saved the child. The child had been kidnapped because of his own failure. Even with help from Maelrun the Frog, he had failed to root out all the spies and protect the city's night.

'We missed them.'

That day, Gielpin bit down so hard that blood ran from his gums.

More than a hundred years ago, there was a man who unified the Thieves' Guild alone.

He was not just a thief. He was a righteous thief.

He made helping poor and suffering people the banner of his life.

A man who had grown up seeing and learning only theft, then rose to the top of that world.

The continent's only Rogue Master.

A bard who sang of the romance of the night.

The emperor of back alleys, Kiuzellas.

As a child, Gielpin's dream had been to become a Night Guardian.

That was a concept Kiuzellas himself had created.

Protect the night, and in doing so preserve people's peace.

Watching the smiles around him, Gielpin thought he was becoming something more than a thief.

He believed he was helping protect the city where he had been born and raised, and he acted on that belief.

'This is the city where I was born and raised.'

Protect it. If not me, then who?

He missed the child. He missed some spies.

No one blamed Gielpin.

Not even the child's mother would blame him, but Gielpin blamed himself.

'It is my fault.'

People could mock him, say some half-baked little thief had no right to talk about duty.

'Even if it is only a dream.'

Gielpin wanted to hold that childhood dream again and keep going.

And right before that dream shattered to pieces, Enkrid saved the child.

He saw the mother's gratitude.

That was when Gielpin glimpsed something extraordinary in the man before him.

He was not talking about sword skill.

Would Kiuzellas have been like this?

Enkrid's heart was different, and his will was different. Gielpin recognized that.

"Why did he do that?"

When he asked the returned Kraiss, even the answer was a masterpiece.

"He probably did it because he got annoyed. That enemy commander was acting pathetic. How furious would he be if we saved the kid?"

Was that really the reason?

No.

He saved a person. By saving that child, he protected the city.

Enkrid had not intended it, but what he did completely captured an old thief's heart.

Gielpin made up his mind again.

'Even if I throw away this life.'

He would protect the city's nights, and he would accept even the role of clearing small stones from this man's path.

Kraiss had watched over him and taken him in, yet his oath of loyalty ended up pointed elsewhere. Even later, when Kraiss learned Gielpin's intentions and thoughts in full, nothing changed.

Fine then, do as you like. That was his attitude. Calm and flat.

As long as the work got done, that was enough. If anything, he appreciated hearing it in advance.

At least it meant Gielpin would not smash him in the back of the head when things turned bad.

Enkrid knew none of this, of course.

He simply enjoyed seeing someone show zeal.

"I am rooting for you."

"I will clear even the pebbles left on the roadside."

Enkrid did not fully understand what came next, but he took it as a promise to keep the city alleys clean.

For a short stop in the city, a lot had happened, and he had met quite a few people.

He had even seen Graham on the way back.

Ending that brief train of thought, he turned and saw Dunbakel with swollen cheekbones. Anyone could tell she had been beaten up.

"We march when the snow stops. Why did you beat the kid up like this?"

Enkrid scolded her. She was immediate fighting strength.

"At this level, she will heal in half a day. What, huh? You think I am someone who beats kids without thinking?"

Enkrid almost nodded, but held it in. He could not act like that tactless lieutenant from earlier.

"Your jaw just dropped a little, did it not?"

"Looks like your eyes got hurt too."

He ignored it and moved on, then saw Kraiss sitting by the brazier with a blank expression after sleeping all day for skin care.

From the outside, it looked like he was wasting time, but no. He was probably working his mind hard.

At least that was what Enkrid told himself while watching.

Slurp.

Kraiss drooled, then sucked it back in.

"Ah, I dozed off."

So he really was lounging around in comfort.

Enkrid briefly considered walking over and smacking the back of his head.

Right then, Kraiss stretched and stood up.

"You are back?"

"Yeah."

"I gave it some thought."

"You gave it some thought?"

If something useless came out of that mouth, maybe he should start with one punch.

Unaware of Enkrid's thoughts, Kraiss continued in his usual tone.

"The Azpen bastards probably set a trap."

The heavy snowfall had gradually thinned, and Kraiss had kept turning things over in his head.

'If I were them, I would have hit our rear instead.'

That would still have been a hard battle, but at least it was the kind of battle they had expected. Azpen should have attacked while holding the advantage.

But they did not.

Winter battles were hard enough already, so why drag things out?

Azpen did not invade. They waited.

Even now, with the snow stopping, there was no surprise attack. Only now were they slowly preparing to move their units.

As if they had been waiting for this side's battle to end.

That felt wrong. Something was rotten. Very, very bad. The unease surged again.

'I would have attacked.'

What fight was easier than smashing the enemy from behind while they were engaged? Yet Azpen did not do it.

There was something there. He could not predict it. That meant worst case.

After thinking it over again and again, Kraiss reached one conclusion.

"It will be harder than the Black Blade Bandits and Cultist alliance. They may even be hiding a knight. Even if we need knight-level force right now, we still do not know if our side can send one. They might also turn part of their troops and strike the city directly."

"What are you trying to say?"

"It means they can do anything."

"Response?"

Enkrid asked, and Kraiss answered. They spoke in calm, ordinary voices across the brazier, but it was no different from a sortie commander's talk with his officer.

Of course it was not.

Graham had been taken down by an assassin and was bedridden. He had handed full authority to Enkrid.

The brazier's flame made Kraiss's face glow red.

"Do you know that battalion commander stationed at Green Pearl well?"

Enkrid shook his head. He had never met the man. He had only heard bits and pieces, that he was an opportunist who would do anything for profit.

He was said to be excellent at supply and fortification, and weak in actual battle.

It was not good news from any angle.

"In the worst moment, we may witness magic where our enemies suddenly double."

At the word magic, Esther snorted beside them.

"Hmph."

She was in human form today.

As they talked, the snow stopped completely.