Eternally Regressing Knight
Chapter 558 - Festival and Guest
Thump.
The organ that had quietly been pumping blood throughout his body suddenly announced its presence.
His heart was pounding.
It beat loudly, as if to say, I'm here.
In truth, there was something more important to Krais than dreams, life, or even survival itself.
How should one describe it?
A preparation for the future, a tangible, graspable symbol of value.
In other words, Krona.
To him, the future, the symbol of value, the dream, and life itself all converged into Krona.
What would he do after earning piles of gold coins by running a salon?
He didn't know.
He'd just live doing whatever he wanted.
Even if he didn't know what he wanted to do, it would be enough to have his pockets filled with gold coins.
That was how Krais envisioned his future.
And now, Enkrid whispered dreams and the future to him.
"If it works out, you'll make an unimaginable amount of Krona."
For a moment, Krais saw a mountain of gold coins appear before his eyes.
It was an illusion.
He hadn't even taken any drugs, but there it was.
"Building the city of pleasure you mentioned on the border of the Empire and the southern great nation wouldn't be a bad idea."
Krais's eyes grew hazy, as if his mind had already traveled to that distant future.
Recently, he'd heard that Anne, while developing a remedy, had failed and accidentally created a substance that glowed at night.
They were now using it to construct lighthouses with glowing water to illuminate Border Guard's nights.
If they refined it further?
A few alchemists had joined Anne since then, so it wasn't impossible.
They could create a giant sphere in the center of the city and fill it with glowing water.
If they erected it as the iconic centerpiece of the city of salons?
The construction guild, known for their skilled building techniques, could easily make it happen.
In his dream, Krais climbed the tall walls built along the southern border.
"Look here! This is the city of pleasure!"
Spreading his arms wide, he would introduce the city to dozens of nobles.
As they turned their gazes in the direction of his hand, a luminous city appeared—shining even in the dark of night.
It was a literal city of pleasure, glowing on its own.
The mere thought sent an electrifying thrill from his toes to the top of his head.
No, that wouldn't be enough.
It should move.
They could build a contraption to rotate it side to side.
Couldn't they implement a magical power device to make it move automatically?
"Behold! This is the shining city, Salon de City!"
The city wouldn't just glow; it would scatter its light outward, as if sprinkling it over the surroundings.
The name rolled off his tongue, and though it was improvised, it somehow felt right.
Krais hadn't realized it, but the moment he decided to give up, his mind had stopped engaging in deep thought.
In other words, he had stopped thinking.
That was why every problem had felt insurmountable, like an unscalable wall.
It was a lack of willpower and a heart that had drifted away.
But now, Krais's mind, once like hardened bread, softened and began to whirl like warm soup.
Enkrid watched as Krais's vacant expression suddenly shifted, his eyes lighting up.
Why is he acting like this?
Enkrid didn't know.
Honestly, he didn't particularly care.
He simply cheered Krais on as always.
This was, after all, the dream Krais had always talked about.
Krais himself had forgotten it for a while, but Enkrid hadn't.
A large-scale city of salons, the piles of Krona it would generate, and the mountain of gold coins he would accumulate.
Krais had once said he liked the idea of the salon city and the Krona.
That's why Enkrid mentioned it.
As he spoke, Enkrid found himself suddenly curious about his soldiers'—no, his knights'—goals.
What were they all fighting for?
He could roughly guess, but he had never asked.
Until now, there had been no need.
But things were different now.
They had officially become a knight order.
Just because he had ambitions, did that mean Rem and the others had to follow him blindly?
They had a formal knight order name, but he hadn't explicitly called them knights.
Rem might follow him to erase the demonic domains, but what about the others?
As Krais rambled on, Enkrid decided that he would have to go around and ask them, one by one.
He would also need to define the knight order's size and structure properly.
Until now, Krais had handled all matters related to the order, but while Krais was momentarily distracted, Enkrid had been the first to think of these things.
"Are you sick?"
Enkrid asked, seeing Krais's eyes spinning in their sockets.
Maybe he had a fever.
"No."
Krais's lifeless eyes, like those of a dead fish, regained their shine.
He wasn't sick, apparently.
For a brief moment, however, it seemed Enkrid noticed Krais' contemplative state and began to chatter again.
"You've been worried about the tension around the borders with Aspen, right? Plus, all the factions and other issues in the city must have been a headache."
Actually, it hadn't been that much of a headache.
The truth was, he simply didn't care much.
If a problem arose, he'd solve it.
But for now, he couldn't just cut everything down with his sword, so wasn't it better to leave it be?
Enkrid was clever enough to recognize the issues, but his approach had always been simple: if something festers, cut it open and remove the rot.
However, the scale of the territory was too large for such crude methods, and while there wasn't outright discontent, many people felt stifled.
The city itself was functioning well.
There was surplus food and plenty of krona flowing, and yet...
Things couldn't be perfect, no matter how good they seemed.
What was the answer to this situation?
Until recently, Krais hadn't known either, but now he had an answer.
"I have an idea."
At some point, the only thing left in Krais's mind was a rolling contraption.
One that poured out gold coins in real-time.
Risk?
Giving up?
Weren't those the things one had to endure to achieve results?
Hadn't their commander done exactly that?
Krais decided to forget his wavering heart. Resolving to overcome it wasn't enough—he would erase it entirely.
"This year, we've stockpiled plenty of food. I'll use it."
They had started cultivating Green Pearl, built secure trade routes, and expanded the surrounding farmland.
They had also focused on herding and hunting.
Ranger training included monster and beast hunting as well.
Border Guard's role as a trade city had grown even more significant.
Recently, the Enri caravan had arrived from the west, potentially opening trade routes with the western regions.
One of the resulting benefits was an abundance of food.
If this sounds like Border Guard was already wealthy, the problem was that none of this belonged to Krais personally.
He couldn't take it all for himself, nor did he want to.
Watching Enkrid move forward with integrity had taught Krais the same lesson.
He would move forward and build the shining city.
Krais made up his mind.
"Alright."
"Yes, then."
Krais turned and left.
"What was that all about?"
Rem asked, toweling his wet hair as he emerged after a wash.
"No idea."
Enkrid answered honestly.
"I thought he was busy?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Enkrid brushed it off as just another one of those things.
The next morning, he heard that Krais had convinced Abnaier—half a prisoner at this point—to join him.
When asked why, Krais simply said:
"I'll put him to work."
And when questioned about trust?
"I don't trust him. I don't trust anyone, actually. I just make sure no one knows what anyone else is doing."
Moreover, Krais limited Abnaier's responsibilities strictly to trade and diplomatic stabilization.
"There's no time for anything else. Not for armies or military affairs."
Abnaier dove into his tasks with focus.
When Enkrid finally visited him, Abnaier was buried in paperwork, his head on the desk.
He wasn't asleep.
He was simply too busy.
"Who's there? Put the documents below."
Enkrid left silently, feeling his visit had been pointless.
With Abnaier managing trade and other tasks, Krais could breathe easier. In his spare time, he created a city-wide festival.
It might have seemed sudden, but it was what the city needed most.
Why?
Because people needed an outlet.
Border Guard had defeated Aspen and claimed victory, but now they were neighbors.
Not everyone was pleased.
Some had lost family and friends to Aspen.
Not that there were that many people like that.
It was rare for a large-scale battle to occur while fighting against Aspen.
Still, some dissatisfaction existed, and unsettling rumors circulated here and there.
On the other hand, Aspen was the same.
They had suffered far worse.
Aspen attempted to resolve the issue by relocating those who hadn't lived near the border to its vicinity.
Of course, it was Abnaier's handiwork.
That was the reason for the massive migration within the principality.
In such a situation, they needed something to unite everyone.
That was the memorial day—a festival.
Krais added a few features to it.
"Shall we call it the Order's Foundation Day? Or the Day of Border Guard Protection?"
Enkrid didn't care about either, but since the Order hadn't yet gained everyone's approval, he thought the latter would be better.
Thus, the Day of Border Guard Protection was established, and a festival was held.
It was a three-day-long event of eating and drinking, culminating in a martial arts tournament on the final day.
Preliminaries were held within each unit, while the finals took place in the city of Green Pearl.
Anyone who wasn't affiliated with a unit could participate, so excitement spread far and wide.
The knights only observed while their unit members competed.
The winner was given a pouch full of gold coins, and if they wished, they could even be honorably discharged.
As a result, Rem's unit members went wild, competing so fiercely during the preliminaries that those who advanced to the finals limped onto the arena.
"Will there even be a fight, brother?"
Audin asked, seeing this.
The opponent was a martial artist personally trained by Audin and Teresa.
"Who needs a leg anyway?"
Rem snorted, but the victory went to Audin's holy infantryman.
"Woah! I am a bear!"
For some reason, the shout of triumph was a little strange.
"Want me to teach you a Frog war song?"
Hearing this, Luagarne offered, but Audin declined.
"I can sing quite well myself, Frog Sister."
After recovering fully, Luagarne had wandered the mountain ranges like a crazed Frog, but lately, she stuck close to Enkrid.
"Next is... oh, it's Stumbling Clemence?"
Clemence had practically become a proper noun at this point.
She stepped forward with a short wooden sword, and her opponent was from the sword infantry unit led by Ragna and Vice-Captain Ropord.
What ridiculous names, Enkrid thought as he watched the fight.
As he always did, regardless of the skill level, there was something to learn from everything.
For that reason, Enkrid enjoyed watching every fight starting from the finals.
The fight was one-sided.
Clemence wasn't skilled in swordsmanship but in fighting itself.
She tangled up the opponent's sword, dashed in, swept their legs, and struck their throat with the edge of her hand.
Her movements and use of strength were impeccable.
"She's good."
Luagarne nodded as she watched.
Stumbling Clemence had followed Luagarne around and learned a few techniques, but she had also sought teachings from others indiscriminately and trained like a madwoman.
She didn't even need sharp eyes.
Enkrid could feel the flow of Will from Clemence.
It was like an intuition, a kind of insight.
While fighting, it was as though she foresaw the future;
Enkrid saw traces of someone advancing within Clemence's movements.
"She'll become a Semi Knight."
Like any Order, there was a Squire stage before becoming a Semi Knight.
Clemence had risen to the level of a Squire.
She had started as an ordinary soldier, but her talent and effort had led her here.
"We'll say that winning will grant entry into the Order."
Hearing this, Krais added another prize for the tournament.
Enkrid nodded.
It wasn't a difficult thing to do.
Of course, any soldier with sense wouldn't want to join the Order.
Enkrid was the one who showed them what true relentless training looked like.
From afar, he was a heroic figure inspiring respect and awe.
Up close, however, he was just a crazy bastard—a training maniac.
It wasn't called the "Madmen Order" for no reason.
Even the Hurrier family in Aspen joined the martial arts tournament.
The atmosphere was electric, and the winner came from Enkrid's direct unit.
"Kaaahhh!"
The victor roared into the air as though they were a giant hybrid.
The winner was a female soldier with her hair braided in a single plait—Stumbling Clemence.
She requested to become a Squire of the Order, and so it was.
And thus, the three-day festival came to an end.
Once the festival concluded, the city's improvement projects surged forward like a runaway carriage.
It was reminiscent of when Enkrid returned from expeditions only to find new walls had been built.
After the festival, there was a reorganization of the city's layout.
The outer ring road was established right next to the walls that had been expanded earlier.
The inner area was divided into an inn district and a commercial district.
Artisans were grouped with artisans, and merchants with merchants.
All of it was Krais' handiwork.
It was around this time.
While training, meeting Eitri, and attending to various tasks around the city, Enkrid was on his way back to the barracks.
"The festival was so delightful I couldn't take my eyes off it."
He heard the nonsense of a blind old man standing before the barracks.
What did it mean for someone blind to say they couldn't take their eyes off something?
It was like a joke a Fairy would make.
It was a clear autumn afternoon.
Enkrid's hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of his sword as he gazed at the old man.
"Don't let your guard down."
Jaxen's voice came from behind him.
Jaxen had approached with deliberate steps, so Enkrid wasn't surprised.
It seemed their timing had coincidentally overlapped.
"Why?"
"That old man... is strange."
Coming from Jaxen, the word sounded unusual.
If there was danger, he would say it was dangerous
If it was annoying, he would say it was bothersome.
But 'strange'?
It was an expression Enkrid had never heard from Jaxen before.

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