WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 441: A Barracks Called a City

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After hearing the whole story, Eisia forgot her fatigue for a moment and smiled.

Her mood had been foul because supplies kept shrinking.

A junior knight had personally gone out just to bring in a few merchants. That alone showed how bad things were.

What an inefficient way to run things.

That was just how Thousand Brick was. Being a junior knight did not mean you could throw your weight around here.

Eisia had needed time to adapt too. The feeling she got when she first saw Sir Oara hammering nails in with the flat of a Shortsword was hard to put into words.

It felt like watching someone plow a field with a holy sword.

And still, Sir Oara smiled.

Brightly smiling Oara.

Smiling Oara.

Oara the Smiling Blade.

Sunshine Smile Oara.

All the nicknames people used for Knight Oara sounded alike.

She smiled often.

Eisia saw that smile, then immediately wrote to the palace asking them to send a few craftsmen and dispatched a pigeon.

"You're the best. Handsome too. As expected."

Eisia cleared her thoughts, gave him a thumbs-up, and said it.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Oara-style compliment."

Eisia seemed to have picked up a lot of jokes too. Enkrid also heard about the rest of what he needed to handle, besides Swordsman Jack.

One deserter had joined hands with a Cultist and founded a new religion, in other words, a sham cult.

Eisia added that this bastard had already settled in around two years ago, and now the group had grown big enough that real Cultists seemed to be involved.

"I want to chase him down and kill him right now, but if a wave hits while Sir Oara is away, we're finished."

For the same reason, Eisia could not leave easily either.

Harpy chicks and Demon Creatures kept probing the city whenever they felt like it, so the moment key people left, raids would come at a dangerous level.

With Enkrid arriving at a time like this, she had every reason to welcome him.

Still, this was not a straight fight. They had to track them down, chase them, and drive them out, so Eisia did not expect too much.

That new cult leader ran so fast that if not for that, she would have clenched her teeth, carved out time, and killed him already.

Honestly, if Enkrid had not shown up, she had planned to find a chance and crush them herself.

They were not even a cult bishop's crew, just half-baked idiots babbling about being a cult leader and a god. She could have gone alone, slit their throats, and come back.

Enkrid asked a few more things.

Where the colonies were, how big they were, and what kind of traits those religious groups had.

Eisia answered everything she knew.

"You saw the village tavern, right? The owner knows more than I do."

"He looked furious because of the drinking ban."

"He's famous for being a good guy. Go order a few dishes and talk to him. Ah, and there's one thing to watch out for with those sham-cult bastards. I heard there's a swordsman who uses magic."

"What kind of magic?"

If spells were involved, caution was necessary.

Someone could spit fire from their hands, or tangle someone up with webs.

Enkrid had already gone through all kinds of that while sparring Esther.

He had not gained some major breakthrough from sparring mages, but he had at least gotten used to how to deal with them.

That was why he asked.

"I heard a man's belly got a hole in it without him even being touched."

Eisia said it while shaping her hand like a blade and stabbing at the air.

She said several soldiers had already been hit by that, then added that if those sham-cult bastards got caught, she would punch holes through all their mouths.

Enkrid heard everything he needed, but they were not the kind who would show themselves just because he went looking right now.

Three new colonies had appeared recently too.

There was a reason this was called the Demon Realm border. Leave it alone for a while, and insane Demon Creatures gathered up, built nests, and caused havoc.

"Welcome to Thousand Brick, on the Demon Realm border."

Eisia said it again, and Enkrid nodded calmly.

Being near the Demon Realm did not change much. It just meant there were a few more monsters than elsewhere, and Border Guard was not that different anyway.

Eisia was busy, and right now she looked like she needed rest first. The dark shadows under her eyes looked deep enough to spawn an Evil Spirit any minute.

She was a junior knight, so her stamina should have been strong, but too many exhausting things had piled up lately.

"I've been up for two nights straight because of those Harpy bastards."

If they attacked all at once, she would rather lead troops and fight head-on, but they came in dribs and drabs, just a few at a time, watched from afar, struck if they saw an opening, and ran if they did not.

Even for a junior knight, it was hard to catch Harpies that cast spells and fled.

If she really set her mind to it, she could catch them, but they kept teasing from too far away.

If only those bastards came near the watchtowers. They almost never came close to the outer towers or walls of Thousand Brick.

When she had brought in the merchant group, those Harpies spotted them and attacked in excitement, and Eisia had rushed in late to deal with them.

Even that, Eisia considered lucky.

It had been a chance to kill at least a few of those damned bastards.

"Millio. Guide them. Show them the lodging and the dining hall."

Eisia went to rest and left the guiding to a soldier named Millio, the same one Enkrid had seen at the gate.

Enkrid casually scanned the city for shouting, curses, or fights. He was looking for Rem. Nothing noisy stood out.

It was still just a city that was moderately loud and moderately stinky.

Half that smell was sweat.

The sour stink from sweat-soaked clothes mixed with humid air and made a fantastic harmony.

People training their bodies or swinging weapons were common everywhere.

"One, for a Demon Creature's head!"

"Two, smash it!"

"Let's die smiling!"

"Oa!"

He could hear the chants too.

Six people were carrying logs and training their bodies.

The largest group was maintaining longbows and making arrows.

They were all drenched in sweat too. That was the kind of weather it was.

The kind where thick sweat ran down even if someone just stood still.

The odor drifting everywhere was not quite rot, but it was loaded with discomfort and stung the nose.

Dunbakel had been frowning from the start because of the smell, and finally clamped a hand over her nose.

"This reeks. Do these people not wash?"

"Do you have no shame?"

Enkrid scolded her.

"Why me? I washed ten days ago."

Enkrid decided that if their lodging had a tub, he would dunk Dunbakel in headfirst.

Ten days ago meant the road coming here.

Dunbakel had reached a stream, wet her fingertips, and rubbed a few drops over her face.

That was what she called washing.

"That tub better be sturdy."

Dunbakel sensed danger in Enkrid's words and quietly took one step back.

Of course, that would not change the result.

Ruagarne was a Frog, so humid air was familiar to her. No, she liked it.

The smell was bearable too. Frogs could regrow limbs even after losing them, so they tended to be a bit dull in their senses.

She welcomed damp environments.

As a hobby, Frogs sometimes called it a vacation when they soaked half their body in lake water.

They were not frogs, but they liked everything frogs would like.

They flicked out their tongues to catch bugs, and they considered scrubbing themselves with mud in marshes near water one of the best ways to relax.

Ruagarne remembered things she had sometimes received at the royal palace as special consideration.

"I wonder if they have a tub full of mud."

Naturally, they did not.

"Mud, you say?"

Millio heard Ruagarne and reacted. The soldier with the heavy low voice still wanted to test himself against Enkrid, but for now he stayed focused on the task he was given.

He was a soldier who did his duty.

"If you go around the Gray Forest past the west gate, there's a swamp, but don't go. That swamp always fills with poisonous fog."

It sounded like something he did not really need to say.

Enkrid thought so and turned his gaze.

The city came into view. He had already looked once, but it still looked unusual.

Houses stood with wide gaps between them, and two dirt roads running through the city linked the two gates.

Most buildings were made by stacking clean brick on raised ground, then building the house on top.

That was because the land flooded easily when rain came.

He also saw drainage channels dug all over the place to avoid that.

Most were dug with the natural slope in mind, so water would run from higher ground down.

The most striking one was the huge central drainage trench, roofless, almost like a small cave carved open.

At this scale, rain would probably turn it into a little stream. Did a giant dig this?

"Sir Oara made that."

Millio said it while following Enkrid's line of sight. He was quick to notice things.

His way of speaking was rough, but he seemed kind.

If his words were true, a knight had done shovel work too.

Should that have been surprising? Enkrid was not sure, so he let the thought go.

Anyway, with that massive drainage trench hacked through the middle, no house seemed likely to suffer flooding when rain came.

Enkrid observed more.

A general goods store, a food shop, a tavern, a few empty houses, a forge, a butcher-like store with cut meat hanging out, a shop that did not seem to be doing business, a lone standing building, a half-broken wooden scarecrow between structures, a store selling stacked firewood.

"Merchants from outside hand over goods and get paid in Krona, but in here, most people buy things with Contribution Points."

Millio chose his words carefully. The way the city worked was unusual.

"Contribution Points?"

Dunbakel asked while pinching her nose shut, so her voice came out stuffed.

Millio nodded at her and continued.

"Yes, Contribution Points. You build them up by taking down Demon Creatures and killing Magic Beasts. Or by doing things that help the city, like repairing the gate. If you want one big payout, you can also back up Sir Oara when she fights. You killed those Harpies earlier too, right? Spell-casting Harpies are a rare variant, so that should cover at least ten days of meals and lodging."

As Enkrid glanced around, he noticed very few people without weapons.

Everyone carried a bow.

And every one of them wore stick-like marks on their shoulders.

"Ah, those don't show unit names, they're more like ranks. We based them roughly on Naurillia's soldier grade system. Once a month, a Squire from the knight order also comes and teaches."

One stick was low-rank, two were mid-rank, three were high-rank.

Once the sticks started bending, that meant commander level.

It was similar to the palace system while still a little different, and carving symbols on the shoulder so anyone could recognize rank at a glance was a good idea.

That would be useful at Border Guard too.

Enkrid kept looking around the city, then felt something off.

The smell was foul, but it felt comfortable.

Like coming home.

Not his real hometown, but the kind of air that settled his mind.

The weather was still gross and clammy.

Sticky sweat still ran over his skin. Just standing there made him want to wash immediately.

Weather bad enough that he wanted to grab Dunbakel by the head and drive her into a bathtub.

Then he saw two soldiers in a small open lot, swinging wooden clubs at each other.

Sparring.

They were not fighting. They were measuring each other's skill.

They had taken off their tops and wore only pants, both of them swinging long wooden clubs.

The moment he saw that, he understood. This was not a city.

This was not a city, it was a barracks.

Thousand Brick was a city only in name.

The place was one enormous military camp.

He could even see why it had to be that way.

To beat back the endless attacks by Demon Creatures and Magic Beasts.

There was no farmland here, and it was no commercial hub either. Other than people like that, who would fill this city?

Everyone was a combatant.

The whole city had been turned into a barracks.

And who else could have done that?

Knight Oara.

It was her work.

"Here you are. Stay in this building, and handle meals on the first floor. If you say Demon Slayer, everyone will recognize you."

It was a fairly wide brick building. It even looked to be in better condition than where Sir Oara stayed.

A door covered in graffiti stood there.

Various lines had been carved into it with sharp objects, probably knives.

Run, all of you. It's not too late.

Forever, for Knight Oara.

I will smash Demon Creatures' heads for life.

Oa!

Let's die smiling!

Things like that.

Enkrid pushed the door open.

If this place was a barracks, then in truth every resident of the city was a warrior.

Enkrid stepped inside and saw the soldier who had been sparring earlier, and a prostitute. They were dressed completely differently.

The soldier wore sloppy linen clothes and carried food around.

The woman was armed.

She had a Shortbow slung diagonally across her back and wore thin leather armor, light combat gear.

She looked ready to head out for battle or a mission at any moment.

"Welcome."

The male soldier spoke, and the woman glanced at Enkrid.

"So this is the Demon Slayer, huh. You're really handsome."

Was that this unit's general vibe?

Or had Sir Oara made it this way?

The woman spoke without hiding what was on her mind. At her words, most people in the dining hall looked toward Enkrid.

"...A man's face isn't everything."

The soldier carrying food said that.

Ruagarne could not hold back and stepped in.

"Not only his face, the rest of him is excellent too."

Nonsense.

Enkrid ignored it and sat down. Then the woman walked up and said,

"I'm Rowena. Squad leader."

A leader who commanded ten people.

"I saw you in the alley earlier."

Enkrid said it out of curiosity.

"Ah, that was my side job."

This was a city where everyone who lived there was a soldier.

"If you need anything, come find me."

Her words sounded double-edged. Day work or night work, hard to tell.

"That probably won't happen. Might not happen at all."

Dunbakel let one fist hang low, made a vulgar hand gesture, and muttered. Enkrid asked the owner,

"Can we wash up here too?"

"Huh? Yeah. We've got a tub."

The owner answered, and Dunbakel tried to run, but Enkrid caught her by the scruff of the neck.

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