WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 427: The King's True Intentions

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As far as Enkrid knew, Kraiss was not the kind of man who clung to impossible things.

"You are not needed."

At the Mercenary King's words, Kraiss immediately gave up on insisting, just as quickly as before.

"Yes, of course!"

In truth, he probably had never meant to follow along for real.

Otherwise, he could not have changed his stance that fast.

"You came as a guest. Did you not bring a gift?"

Instead of trying to win the king's favor, Kraiss aimed only at his gold.

Enkrid had heard the rumors too while traveling across the continent, that there was a warehouse in the East overflowing with gold.

There was also the rumor that the Thieves' Guild had once formed a coalition and raided it, and not a single one came back alive.

Enkrid had let it go in one ear and out the other.

So, gold.

There was probably a lot of it.

That was all he thought.

Unless he needed that much gold, what was the point of digging deeper?

Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Jaxon were the same.

No one in the Lunatic Company was attached to Krona.

Kraiss was different.

A strange light flickered in his eyes.

He looked like a spirit of obsession, betrayed by the person he had sworn love to, locked in a ruined house for a hundred years until only fixation remained.

His eyes burned when he spoke about gold. There was madness in them.

Still, Enkrid thought he had picked the worst possible target.

"A gift? What, you want Eastern gold or something?"

"I would appreciate it if you gave me some."

"No."

"I heard the King of the East has a heart as wide as the great sea. Why are you like this?"

"I am not that generous."

"You are the King of the East. Are you saying this meeting means nothing to you?"

"I cannot hear you."

Enkrid thought the King of the East was not much of a talker, but he was exceptionally talented at pulling people into his own rhythm.

Kraiss did not get angry. He did not grind his teeth. He simply continued with the same smile and the same tone as before.

"Is that so? Then I will ask again tomorrow."

From a distance, it looked almost friendly. The king smiled and nodded.

For a moment, Enkrid worried.

If Kraiss got hit even once, he might not see him again in this lifetime.

"Will you be okay?"

That was why he asked Kraiss after he came out from meeting the king.

Without turning back, Kraiss only moved his lips.

"What a petty bastard. Are you not going to throw that bastard out?"

Even if Enkrid tried, the king was not the type to leave. Besides, Enkrid still had much to learn. That made him a useful teacher.

"You do know who you are talking about, right?"

When Enkrid asked again, Kraiss frowned, nodded, and replied.

"Yes."

"And you still want to ask for gold?"

"Yes."

Enkrid looked at him, asking why with his eyes. Kraiss jerked a thumb over his shoulder and said,

"He is the King of the East. Would someone like that kill people carelessly? More importantly, he came here desperate to recruit talent. He wants to leave a good impression, not a bad one, so he will not move recklessly. Above all, this is Eastern gold. I do not know if you know this, but Lewes steel is from the East, and Uber Mountain darksteel is from the East too. Should we really pass up a chance like this?"

His first point was why there was no need to worry.

He had seen the concern in Enkrid's eyes and answered that first.

Kraiss's blazing eyes said only one thing.

Gold.

Would he go blind from gold and bow to the threat in front of him?

No. Kraiss was not that stupid.

A knight does not kill someone for making a fair request. And that man was the King of the East, so he would not act carelessly.

He had also come here with only two people and no large escort, which showed how straightforward he was. He had sparred with Enkrid repeatedly and even offered instruction.

Kraiss must have pieced all of that together before judging the king's character.

That was the kind of man he was.

"Captain."

Then the golden glow in Kraiss's eyes faded, and he called out to Enkrid.

"What?"

Enkrid had just finished a hundred downward cuts and wiped the sweat running to the tip of his chin with the back of his hand as he answered.

"You are not leaving, right?"

The King of the East never hid his intentions. Even so, it was hard to dislike him, which only proved how naturally charming he was.

He was trying to bring everyone, including Enkrid, to the East.

Strangely enough, Enkrid himself had never received that offer directly.

Rem got it. So did Ragna, Dunbakel, Audin, and Teresa. Enkrid had not, at least not yet.

He had said something similar when they first met, but after that, he had never brought it up again.

Was his pride hurt? Did he not want to repeat himself?

No. The king was the kind of man who repeated himself tirelessly.

He just did not do it with Enkrid. Instead, he sparred with him and gave brief advice.

If he did ask him to come along?

Enkrid already knew the answer by instinct.

"I am not going."

He said it because his answer was already set.

Kraiss sighed inwardly in relief, yet a quiet unease remained.

If the captain left now, would the five frontier walls even hold?

Kraiss had encouraged wall expansion in every city assigned to General Enkrid and quietly broadened each city district.

After that, he also spread rumors bit by bit through traveling merchants.

Naturally, he was aiming for multiple effects.

By making the five cities be seen as one, he made everyone clearly recognize the new ruler and lord, and pushed each city lord and mayor to join the trade route project.

The scale of Krona moving through the region had changed.

None of this was possible without Enkrid as the center.

Kraiss was one of the people who understood his captain's wishes best.

A knight, the kind who belongs in tales of martial glory.

What he sought was chivalry.

Honor and integrity.

He was someone who moved forward while keeping those things.

Then would the East tempt him?

In Kraiss's eyes, the King of the East did not just have charm. It overflowed from him.

Even though his attention stayed fixed on this unit, there were still people who grew interested in him just by watching from afar.

Among them was a former famous mercenary now in the Border Guard.

A few swordsmen who had escorted nobles also showed interest in the king.

Kraiss had also seen the king's urgent personal letter that arrived the other day.

What was written in it?

It was sealed for Enkrid's eyes only. Kraiss did not bother asking about its contents.

If Crang knew the current situation, then of course the letter must have been full of promises.

Kraiss left the training ground, his habit of imagining worst cases dragging him from one thought to another.

* * *

Rem looked at the table he had carved down and spun an axe in his grip.

The characteristically light axe rolled over his fingers and traced strange arcs through the air.

"Do you do that because it is fun?"

The King of the East approached from the side and asked. His guards trailed behind him.

"It is part of getting my hand used to the axe."

Spinning the axe and carving the table had the same purpose.

Even when addressed by a monster over a hundred years old, Rem answered without even turning his head.

Whether the other person was the King of the East or anyone else made no difference to him. Rem had always been like that.

"You are a man without greed."

"What do you mean?"

"That is how you look."

"I am greedy."

Rem was honest.

The king shook his head and replied.

"If so, why do you not follow me?"

If he needed gold, there was gold.

If he needed beautiful women, he could win them.

If he needed worthy opponents, there were opponents to match.

But Rem wanted none of it. That was how the king saw him.

"Will you go hunting with me once?"

That was what the king said to Rem. The intent was hard to read.

"Sure, let's."

Rem nodded without attaching much meaning to it.

His body had been itching anyway. While Enkrid spent his time sparring that crazy old man right in front of him, Rem had also been reviewing a few techniques.

It started from a small realization.

After killing the Undying Madman, Rem had used several tools he got from him to cast someone else's sorcery.

Normally, that should have put a heavy burden on his body and earned him a major curse.

That did not happen.

Only a tiny part of the expected damage appeared as side effects. It was not something that could be explained by difference in vessel alone.

Did my body change?

Going to the West was one thing. Properly checking what he had was another, and that was only natural.

That was why he had carved chairs and tables with his axe, and now it was time to meet Demon Creatures or Magic Beasts and swing it properly.

Until now, he had focused on fine control. Now he felt the need to let what he had pour out.

"Good, let's go!"

At the king's hearty shout, Dunbakel, who had been watching from one side, raised her head. In her eyes, that mad axe bastard seemed perfectly in sync with the king.

Is that bastard going with him?

Maybe he would. He did seem to fit with the King of the East.

Then the person who kept beating her down would be gone.

And that would make it that much harder for her to improve.

It was not that she welcomed Rem's bullying, but she had to admit one thing. The more he tormented her, the more her skill improved.

Dunbakel's gaze turned to Enkrid. As always, he looked completely unconcerned.

* * *

A normal noble's hunt and the King of the East's hunt could never be the same.

Most of all, his hunting partner was Rem.

Neither of them planned to chase nimble deer.

"Pen-Hanil Mountain Range is past here. Have you been there?"

"When I was active on this continent before, it was my playground."

"Sure it was."

"Sure it was."

The two traded banter. Asaluhi thought the king had taken a real liking to that man.

And Rem did not go out of his way to push the king away either.

Watching them joke around, they almost looked like old friends.

The three headed into the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range.

At the mountain entrance stood an outpost Kraiss had set up with clear intent.

It was three times larger than the other outposts, almost a small city by itself.

Its sole purpose was to stop Demon Creatures and Magic Beasts descending from the range.

To secure a safe path through this area in the first place, they had to deal with whatever came out of the Pen-Hanil range whenever it appeared.

If left alone, things like the Gray Ghouls, Vampire Flies, and Troll Five Brothers that Enkrid and his unit had once wiped out would appear again.

Still, building outposts brought its own problem.

Rem took one look at the shape of the mountain range and judged that trying to block monster emergence this way would cause trouble later.

The inner range was full of terrain where they could hide, gather, and endure.

Then the creatures that would have emerged in scattered groups would see the outpost and become cautious, and once they gathered, they would naturally turn into colonies.

Later, the wave that surged out could easily run well over a hundred.

"Look at this. Just building outposts will not solve it. Keep this up and you will get a large-scale slaughter."

The King of the East saw it too.

He was clearly no ordinary man, and not just someone who was good at fighting.

Like Rem, he could read terrain and grasp the situation.

"What are you looking at? Did I not tell you this was once my playground?"

Half of that was bluff.

Rem knew it too. Maybe not as much as the East, but the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range was also full of unrevealed secrets.

Was this not the first place idiots chasing a jackpot among ruin explorers set their sights on?

A place like that could not be anyone's playground.

Still.

"You are pretty good."

It was skill worth acknowledging.

"Of course."

For a king, he was absurdly down-to-earth. Rem liked that too.

The two soon entered the range.

Control monster movement with outposts, raise the wariness inside, and make colonies easier to form?

Kraiss had not left it that way out of ignorance.

He judged it was better to do this and let the Lunatic Company sweep them out, because securing safe sectors came first.

"Demon Creatures or Magic Beasts can jump out anytime, but you will not be hurt!"

And:

"You likely will not see Demon Creatures or Magic Beasts, but soldiers are always on guard just in case!"

Those two statements would be received very differently by people traveling this route.

Passing in front of the Pen-Hanil range allowed them to create a shortcut faster than any other trade route.

In any case, for those reasons, the king and Rem found a monster group as soon as they entered.

It was a nest of more than thirty trolls.

The entrance was covered with tangled vine-like branches and leaves.

There was a faint scent of crude sorcery.

Some monsters were born with sorcery, magic, or supernatural abilities.

This troll group seemed to have one like that.

"Here."

"Here."

They spoke and looked at each other.

Their rhythm matched perfectly.

Kwoooar.

A troll caught the human scent and stuck out its head.

"How are you?"

With that, Rem charged in at once and swung his axe.

It was a vertical downward strike. The blade split the troll's head as if cutting soft flesh.

Even with its skull split down the middle, the troll swung its left arm wide.

Rem cut off that wrist with the axe in his other hand.

Right beside him, another troll pushed out its head. The dark green, lumpy monster, far larger than a human, opened its mouth.

Crooked sharp teeth showed.

Seeing that, King Anu said,

"This will be a fine hunt."

Thirty trolls were enough force that even a junior knight could not ignore them, and one among them even seemed able to use something like sorcery, so it could have been a threat.

Not to these two.

The king drew his weapon. Not the jambiya, but the long spear his Lieutenant Asaluhi had been carrying.

The king caught the spear his Lieutenant threw, unwrapped the cloth around it, and took his stance.

The cloth fluttered away in the wind, and Asaluhi reached out and caught it.

The king had no intention of moving playfully.

There was something he wanted to show the western warrior beside him.

Something beyond the martial strength Enkrid had shown.

The King of the East put a little sincerity into it.

For the trolls, it was a grim story.

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