WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 370: Color Contrast

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Sway.

The water rippled.

The only light in the pitch-black darkness lit the space around it. Following that trail of light, he saw a figure holding a lamp on a ferry.

Enkrid was aboard a long ferryboat that crossed the river back and forth.

Was it his imagination, or had the boat grown bigger and longer than before?

It was a dream he had not had in a long time.

The Boatman stood across from him, holding an oar.

"It has been a while."

Enkrid spoke first.

He could see the eyes, nose, mouth, and even the skin. It looked like drought-cracked earth. That split dark-gray skin showed not a trace of humanity.

His expression was still hard to read, but compared to the first time they met, Enkrid could see more now.

At least the eyes, nose, and mouth were visible.

More than that, now they could speak.

The Boatman's mouth opened. A straight line parted for a moment, then closed. It was impossible to read as lip movement.

"This wall will be interesting."

His voice was heavy and low, like a blunt hammer.

Words reached the other person the instant they were spoken. There was no faster weapon.

Before Enkrid could defend himself, it felt as if that hammer of words had struck his heart.

The shock spread through his whole body. He trembled. A vibration ran through him. It stirred the primal fear in human nature. That was what the Boatman did.

And Enkrid...

"I look forward to it."

He enjoyed all of it.

In here, there was no Heart of the Beast, no Focus Point, no sense techniques, no trained body.

Only his original self remained.

Enkrid answered with the will, conviction, and resolve that were truly his.

He really did enjoy it. Sincerely, truly, he enjoyed even this situation. The words came from his heart.

The trembling heart, the shock running through his body, all of it would become a stepping stone for what came next.

Expectation that overcame fear.

Had there ever been a day that did not become a stepping stone?

Maybe there had.

Maybe there had not.

A contradiction. Opposing statements.

Still, for Enkrid himself, they fit perfectly.

"There is something to learn even from a flower blooming in a field."

There was something to learn from stars in the night sky.

There was something to learn from dandelion seeds scattering in the wind.

Think.

Worry over it.

Agonize.

Think and think again. Never forget that all of it could become your sword.

His masters, instructors, mercenaries, Rem, Ragna, Jaxon, Audin, along with Esther, Dunbakel, Teresa, Crang, Andrew, and even Eisia most recently.

And countless others, including those who died to his sword.

Enemy soldiers from when he repeated his first today.

Swordsmen of the Hurrier family.

Mages, magic, sorcery, strategic traps.

All of it had been instruction.

"Is it madness, or resolve?"

The Boatman spoke.

His figure gradually blurred in spots. This place was a dream, and also his inner world. He would wake soon.

"Or is it the thrashing of an ignorant man?"

The Boatman looked at Enkrid.

His eye color changed from moment to moment. Blue, then red, then black as night. Then purple, then dark like old tree bark.

Only then did Enkrid realize this was the first time he had looked directly into the Boatman's eyes.

"So now you can even meet my gaze."

He heard the Boatman speak. He could only faintly sense admiration mixed into it.

That was the last thing he heard before opening his eyes.

It really had been a while.

It had been a long time since he had a dream with the Boatman. It even felt like ages since he had seen him.

Lately, he had not been repeating today. Had that made him careless? As if today would not repeat anymore?

It had not. Not when he hunted the Moonlight Beast, and not when he fought Eisia.

As soon as his thoughts turned to Eisia, their sparring came back to him. It still felt regrettable. If they had fought a little longer, it would have been fun.

He still had a lot left to learn from her. Then she left.

Eisia had a discipline that did not show up easily in Rem, Ragna, or Jaxon.

Was that because she learned her foundations in a knight order?

Soft, yet straight.

It was called Illusionary Sword, but compared to Vallen-style mercenary swordsmanship, it was a completely different form.

Illusionary Sword was meant to deceive and confuse the opponent.

Eisia's version removed deception and instead exploited the opponent's concentration.

Against a decent warrior or swordsman, that method might not work at all.

Someone at squire level, or even below it, could probably ignore her "Sword-Tip Aim" and simply swing their own sword.

Ignorance, not even knowing what was what, could look bold at times.

Of course, at that level, they would not even be an opponent who required Sword-Tip Aim.

It had only been a short time, but again, there was much to learn.

His mindset matched the one from the dream.

There was something to learn even from drifting dandelion seeds.

Everything that happened around him was his teacher.

If there was teaching to take, he would think it through, think it through again, then absorb and learn it.

Enkrid was not conscious of it, but his drive to improve always boiled inside him.

A desire to become better.

A hunger to move further.

A will to develop his ability, level, and technique.

It naturally made him proactive, and he did not stop there, he also looked back on himself.

Because now he knew that was the faster road.

Sometimes rest was more important, and sometimes stepping back to look was what he needed most.

Now he knew that.

Things he had not known when he met countless instructors and trained under them.

Now he was finally seeing them one by one, realizing them, and reflecting on them again.

Enkrid knew the time he had spent was not wasted.

With those thoughts, he got up and started his repetitive daily routine.

He went outside and hopped in place to warm his body.

After that, he loosened each joint and performed the unique Isolation Technique to stretch his muscles.

Then he stood before the stacked garden stones he had Andrew pile up, gripped them with both hands, and rose while pulling.

It was a process that trained the backs of his thighs, his core, and the thigh muscles used when sitting and standing.

Before he knew it, he had forgotten the Boatman dream and even forgotten that drive to improve.

Only pure zeal filled that space.

"You never get sick of this?"

Andrew came out later and clicked his tongue.

"Sick of what?"

Enkrid asked back while catching his breath during a short rest.

"What you're doing now. No, all of it."

Training every part of his body in the morning, then training again by taking hits from Dunbakel's rocks or Rem's fists.

Then swordsmanship and practice with all kinds of weapons.

Then sparring again, plus this and that training.

And in any spare time, he taught himself and the trainees.

It was a heavy schedule even for one day, and he handled it daily as if it were nothing. Andrew wondered if a human could even do that.

That feeling was in Andrew's question.

On top of that, recently Enkrid had gone out and beaten down some thing called the Moonlight Beast, something that was either human or demon creature.

And he talked about it like he had just gone out for an evening walk.

From Andrew's view, he really wondered if Enkrid was human.

His life was even more brutal than before.

Even back when Andrew served under him, he thought Enkrid trained viciously. Compared to then, Enkrid was now far more skilled, yet his training volume had not dropped, it had increased. It was rougher and more extreme.

"Honestly."

Enkrid began.

"Honestly?"

When Enkrid did not continue right away, Andrew prompted him.

"I'm having so much fun I could die."

Andrew's lips opened halfway, closed, opened again, then closed again. He could not find the words.

Still, if he did not say something to contain all that amazement, his chest felt like it would burst.

So he turned his head slightly and muttered under his breath.

"...Crazy bastard."

He thought he whispered it, but Enkrid heard it, of course.

Jaxon appeared behind him at some point and offered advice.

"He'll hear all of that."

"Huh?"

Startled because he had not sensed him, Andrew turned and asked again.

"The captain has sharp ears."

Jaxon kindly repeated himself.

Andrew looked at Enkrid with suspicion.

"I didn't hear you call me a crazy bastard."

"Ah."

Andrew sighed.

"Let's start training."

That day, the Isolation Technique began as a special Andrew-customized session.

The human body adapted. So if you repeated the same intensity every day, it weakened instead.

So you had to make it harsher, tougher.

Enkrid gave Andrew that gift.

"Why are we..."

The five trainees also had to go through the intensified training.

Something close to resentment began to show in their eyes.

"You kids have spare energy."

Rem laughed when he saw them. What kind of eyes were those? Resentment? Reeeesentmeeeent?

"Good. Very good."

Rem snickered. The five trainees went pale at the sight.

Ragna did not come to the training yard until late morning.

Compared to before, he really looked like a different person.

It looked like another day would pass the same way.

Except tomorrow was Crang's title investiture ceremony.

Still, something was different.

Enkrid felt the changed air on his skin.

"Place is quiet."

Rem's wild instinct caught the same scent. So did Dunbakel.

"Let's gear up."

Enkrid spoke.

Rem nodded without a word. Everyone started moving. Enkrid also began putting on his gear.

Six Whistle Daggers.

If the timing lined up, they would be useful.

He strapped on his three swords, wrapped himself in Bandage Armor, then put leather armor over it.

The lining was made from tough fabric.

It did make his body stiff and limit his movement, but not enough to call it a major obstacle.

It was Andrew's gift.

"Get your gear on."

This was right after morning training ended. At Enkrid's words, Andrew and the five trainees gathered too.

"What is it?"

Mack asked. Had he sensed the unsettling air too?

Or was he just uneasy after seeing Enkrid and the others?

"The atmosphere is bad."

Dunbakel answered.

Ragna picked up his own sword at one side, then added a Shortsword at his waist.

Then he pulled his bootlaces tight.

Enkrid checked everything from his sword belt onward, then looked around the manor and listened.

"None, right?"

Rem had not said it felt quiet for no reason.

At Enkrid's words, Jaxon nodded.

Instead of a longsword, Jaxon had a forearm-length sword at his waist.

The moment he sensed the unsettling air, he scanned the surroundings.

There were no people around the manor. On a road that usually had traffic, not even a dog could be seen.

Past the clean blue-stone road, he saw a few people hiding inside houses.

Had someone cleared the area? No. The residents were staying away from the manor.

That meant troops had already surrounded the area. Guard soldiers holding spears and swords stood out clearly. There were over twenty of them.

Enkrid ignored them. That number was not enough to do anything.

Then what were they planning?

Right now, his backing was Crang. Marcus too. They were going to move while ignoring that?

What were they trying to pull?

He was almost looking forward to it.

As they waited a little, Esther suddenly raised her head.

Enkrid and Esther's eyes met.

Esther had been lying still, then snapped her head up at something that stimulated her.

A spell?

More precisely, interference with mana.

Someone had pulled a magical trick here.

Nothing happened right away, but it was the kind of setup that would let them do whatever they wanted if left alone.

There was a saying that in mage battles, the one who prepared won.

That was how much advantage came from knowing your opponent and preparing for them.

Did the opponent know her?

From a magical perspective, likely yes. Had she not killed Galaf, who held the river flow in his grip?

One of his disciples might have recognized traces of her.

Who could it be.

More than curiosity, it was competitive spirit.

There was a reason people called her the fighting witch.

Esther did not avoid battles that came her way.

Had the rumor spread far that she had weakened because of the curse?

If that was what her opponent came believing, they would regret it deeply.

Esther stepped forward from panther form and turned human.

Her fur vanished, revealing pale, smooth skin, and the fading fur changed into a long coat.

After transforming, Esther closed the front of her coat and looked around.

"Keep staring and you'll lose your eyes."

She had just seen Enkrid holding Andrew's jaw and turning his face away.

"Good."

Esther gave short praise and started walking.

"I'll be back in a moment."

Enkrid did not ask where. She would move as needed. If there was magical interference, she was going to stop it.

He was not exactly worried, but he wanted to toss her at least a word of support.

So he did.

"Don't come back after getting hit."

"Who are you worrying about."

Arrogant and proud, Esther tied her long black hair back tight, then leaped over the wall.

At some point, inside that coat, she had already equipped long leather pants and a white shirt.

As the curse's influence faded, making clothes with protective spells was no longer difficult.

She had not spent all that time just lying on a cushion and loafing around.

Esther had prepared and equipped herself in her own way.

Not every mage was a prophet, but anyone who properly handled spells gained a sense for impending danger.

Esther was no different.

She had not foreseen this exact moment, but she had prepared.

All she had to do now was show that preparation.

Right after Esther left, Enkrid turned his head to one side, twitched his ears a few times, and spoke.

"Andrew, leave people inside the manor and defend."

"Huh?"

"Feels like there's quite a lot."

Andrew obeyed without asking.

"Everyone inside!"

A few servants, the remaining maids and attendants, Mack, and the five trainees went in first, and Andrew stayed at the training yard.

When Enkrid glanced over, Andrew answered.

"I should at least lend a hand, shouldn't I?"

Because Enkrid said there were many.

Fighting while guarding people was annoying, but Andrew would not go down easily.

Mack and the five trainees should be able to hold for a while too.

From the start, Enkrid had no intention of letting anyone reach the inside of the manor.

Dududududu.

Soon a shiver rolled through the ground.

He could feel the vibration closing in through the earth and his skin.

A dust cloud rose, and cavalry came charging over the blue stone.

At the manor entrance, where everyone's eyes turned, a unit blocked the whole approach. At the very front, a man in flashy armor spoke.

"I am Polman Vertes. Is there a man named Enkrid here!"

"...Palace Security Commissioner?"

Andrew muttered when he heard the name.

"That's me."

Enkrid raised his hand. The gauntlet reinforced with hard leather and iron plates stood out clearly.

In other words, he was armed. The Palace Security Commissioner saw that too.

There were twenty surrounding the manor front. The cavalry that arrived now was over thirty, and infantry followed behind, putting the total well above a hundred. It looked like all the guard troops had gathered.

Among them, he saw the South Gate guard captain who had been there during the Moonlight Beast hunt.

His complexion was pale blue.

"On suspicion of murdering Viscount Bantara, I will escort you into custody."

The Palace Security Commissioner spoke from horseback.

What a pile of shit.

Enkrid said that with his face.

"Shit."

Rem said it out loud.

At that concise answer, the Palace Security Commissioner's face turned red.

A striking contrast to the South Gate guard captain's pale color.

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