What do you mean, me? The question remained after the count’s words, but he had already turned and left.
Rather than pointlessly grabbing him and asking, Enkrid went inside, washed, and slept. Right up until just before he washed and slept, he repeated Restauratio, Iterum, and Enovatio to himself.
His interest had shifted that way, so he left whatever the count had meant alone.
‘Restoration, again, purity.’
He roughly understood and memorized the concepts. Thinking things through was Enkrid’s strong suit.
Using what he understood with his body would be another matter.
‘Restoration is, well.’
It did not greatly interest him. Was that a bold decision? It made sense. Enkrid already knew the concept of Restauratio.
If asked how he knew, his answer would be Rem, Jaxon, Ragna, Audin, and Shinar.
In addition, Dunbakel, Teresa, Pell, and Rophod, who had trained repeatedly under them, were included in that answer as well.
‘Something I already know.’
Restoration was one method of conserving Will to use later.
The concept was to normally gather it and hoard it, then release it during a fight. Strictly speaking, it was storage rather than restoration, but when considering the structure, restoration was probably correct.
‘Awakening and using again what has been left to mature.’
After all of that was fully exhausted came Iterum.
‘This is similar too.’
It was a technique born from caution against pouring out all the Will one possessed and reaching exhaustion.
‘So, normally, you quietly build up Will throughout the body, and just before reaching exhaustion, Iterum—fill yourself anew with a mass of Will like the first.’
A vessel had to be empty before something could be put into it.
The key was learning how to keep it outside the vessel in ordinary times.
‘This, too, well.’
His madmen were already doing it. What Enkrid focused on was Enovatio.
‘Purity.’
Enovatio was renewal. It meant casting off what was clouded, warped, and old, and making everything new. At first he thought it was similar to density, but one could not reach it simply by adjusting density.
‘By renewing it, you raise the purity of Will.’
It was like flipping over a wrongly completed puzzle and putting it back together from the beginning, piece by piece.
‘By repeating today.’
Because he knew the wrong path, he did not take it. And so he had not spent any day he faced carelessly.
‘Renewal.’
Repeating today and meeting a higher-purity time. It was a similar concept. Something felt as though it was just about to touch, yet not quite, but nothing came sharply to mind.
‘It doesn’t work.’
Something itched and bothered him, but he did not know what. That was the conclusion. Even so, he did not feel impatient. Rather, elation rose, and his heart thudded.
‘In the past.’
Moments he could not even have dreamed of kept coming one after another. In the end, that made him happy. His pounding heart quietly returned to normal, and Enkrid, who had continued thinking while half-drunk on sleep, soon fell asleep.
He thought the Ferryman might appear and say something, but it was a deep sleep without any dreams. After sleeping like that, he woke, climbed down from the scratchy straw bed, only picked the sleep from his eyes, and instead of morning training, went out in front of the lodging and loosened his muscles moderately. The soldiers nearby greeted him with their eyes.
Imperial soldiers.
‘Their level isn’t low.’
How were they compared to Border Guard? Comparable.
Every one of these Imperial soldiers also looked like a veteran who had won through dozens of hard fights. If they entered the mercenary world, they would devour most high-ranking mercenaries.
‘Though more than that, they look like soldiers themselves.’
They thoroughly followed discipline and regulations, and military order had been drilled into them. They showed ease, yet did not forget that they were soldiers.
The intensity of their training showed in their standing posture, attitude, and so on.
‘They’re different from Border Guard.’
It was not that Border Guard’s discipline was vague, but there was a clear difference in temperament.
If this side was soldiers, Border Guard was closer to mercenaries.
‘Was this the sort of thing Lua Gharne meant when she told Kraiss they needed to refine it more?’
If Imperial soldiers were ordered to run into fire, they would do it. He could see that sort of temperament.
Because he had been told not to approach, only two guards stood there.
The two soldiers did not speak to him beyond the eye-greeting. They did not ask who he was either.
After this was over, they might talk among themselves, but if ordered to keep their mouths shut, they would not say anything.
‘If Border Guard is a wild horse, this side is a warhorse bred over generations.’
The difference was plain. Well, that did not mean a wild horse was easy to handle.
Then what if they had to fight these men right now?
Victory or defeat would depend on how many cities like this there were and how many troops they held. In other words, if there were just two more cities like this, the continent was in danger.
‘If the outcome is decided by infantry fighting between armies head-on, we lose for sure.’
If there were no variables, it was a given that the side with more refined soldiers would win.
Inside the fortress city and border city, mainly soldiers and their families lived, but it was hard to call it small.
Perhaps it was slightly smaller than Border Guard.
Above all, other than training grounds devoted solely to training without doing anything else, and simple convenience facilities, there was nothing.
Food and the like seemed to be made and shared by the soldiers’ families as they lived.
‘It’s a form that can’t exist without supplies from outside.’
That was how he came to know that the Empire’s supply routes were truly solid, and that road construction had been cleanly carried out.
‘The Empire is large.’
That was what Lady Seriana had said. And so, without law, it would fall into chaos, had she said?
For the foundation of rule by law, for the words of a few philosophers to be heard, communication would have to be that close, would it not? How?
‘The Mage of Lewd Glances.’
What had his name been? The name probably did not matter, but if the Mage Tower existed.
‘Would mass-producing spell objects be possible?’
It was one of the businesses trade city-states or Naurillia were focusing on most right now. He had heard that they were doing that kind of business by trading with a few friendly mages.
If mass production of magical tools was possible, then creating a means of close communication would also be possible.
His stray thoughts ended there. Thinking any further would not dig up anything more, and it was not his field of interest.
From here on, it would be Crang’s or Kraiss’s share. Crang had seen the same thing as him here, so he had probably already reached a similar conclusion.
So Enkrid only had to do what he had always done and do what he wanted.
“Do you get leave often?”
Right now, it was time to tease an Imperial soldier desperate for leave. At Enkrid’s words, one of the soldiers standing guard looked at him.
Why was that teasing? Look at the city. These people were probably praying every day just to receive leave. There had to be something to do for fun.
Judging by the military discipline, if they caused an accident while playing cards with gold coins on the line, they would be beheaded. This was purely Enkrid’s guess and an exaggeration. In reality, it was not beheading; light offenses were overlooked, and if it was a little severe, they were beaten.
Since Count Coty personally laid hands on them, or a knight under him did, and half-killed them, it did have an effect similar to beheading.
With that, what remained in this city was value and pride, but that would not suppress all human desires.
“Do you need something?”
The one who looked like a senior soldier asked.
‘Right before becoming a squire, maybe.’
These men, Count Coty’s soldiers, had an extremely high drive to improve. They were all serious about training and immersed in tempering themselves.
“Since our eyes met, I thought I’d get to know your face.”
“Do you have a hobby of forming friendships with opponents you may fight and may kill?”
A rather stiff fellow.
He had clean, straight black hair that fell neatly. His eyes were ordinary, but his nose bridge was high, so his face was fairly good-looking.
“Were you planning to kill me?”
Even though it was obvious who would win if a knight and a soldier fought, Enkrid threw out a joke and a provocation.
The lower-ranking soldier showed signs of flaring up, but the senior soldier who had spoken did not.
“I would die.”
He cut off the joke and cut off the momentum as well. From the moment Enkrid had first seen him, something about this man had not felt ordinary.
“Name?”
“Klaus. Klaus Müller.”
“Did your forebears serve in the army?”
No matter how he looked at him, the man’s presence, eyes, and attitude were not ordinary. Even a passing glance had left a deep impression.
“They ran a mill.”
The conclusion that came after a few brief exchanges was this: the soldier named Klaus Müller was the son of a miller, and because of some incident, he had decided to serve in the military and was now stationed here.
It was not a friendly conversation, but it was not one that revealed hostility either.
“See you again, Klaus.”
“...If there is a chance, yes.”
Klaus Müller lowered his head and showed respect. Enkrid immediately headed for the dining hall that also served as a reception room. Crang greeted him.
“I thought you were going to stay up all night.”
He was talking about last night. Enkrid had spent too much time with the count.
“It got fun once we started.”
Today, he had skipped dawn training. He knew that rest was as important as training. So he had only loosened his muscles lightly, fooled around with the soldier named Klaus, and headed out.
Why had that man caught his eye?
‘They said there were seven knights in this city.’
Excluding the count, that was the number of knights staying in the fortress city.
‘A fighting force on the level of a decent kingdom.’
Of those, five were out traveling, so he had not seen their faces.
‘There will be eight knights.’
Klaus’s talent did not reveal itself easily on the surface, but it was extremely outstanding.
‘A genius.’
That was how he looked. Should he say the man walked a path on a different track from his own?
Well, seeing one talented soldier was not enough to shake his heart. It merely reminded him that he still had to train with all his might and keep struggling forward.
“What about the others?”
“Shinar and Temares were dragged off by the count again.”
Enkrid nodded. After the count had spent that much time with him yesterday, his condition could not be at its best either.
‘He isn’t trying to win in the first place.’
He fought solely to measure. The count was like that. So Enkrid had gone along with him in that way too.
He had matched him and shown what he had one by one. One might ask what he was doing, showing all his arts to someone who might become an enemy.
But if one hoarded techniques because one feared the opponent might break them, when would one ever become skilled?
As always, real combat was the best training.
“I truly didn’t expect you two to get along this well.”
Seriana muttered. She had expected it, but this was a little excessive.
The count and Enkrid had built a sense of closeness in less than half a day.
Breakfast consisted only of oatmeal porridge and steamed pork tenderloin. It was far too modest for a king’s table, but here, this was daily life.
Executor Seriana did not worry that anyone would complain after seeing the simple meal. By now, she knew that this king did not care about such small things. The others were the same.
Rather, only one of her own people expressed dissatisfaction.
“This is why I hate the border.”
It was Nephir Teshir. In this place, there were no meals that pleased the mouth. But this was Count Coty’s policy.
“I eat what the soldiers eat.”
It was not this kind of meal every time, but today was somewhat drier than usual.
Count Coty was certainly a peculiar great man, someone who thought of himself not as a noble, but as something like a fighter.
Seriana had led the party this way under two calculations. One was because of the destructive power Count Coty’s simplicity had on others.
It was easy to examine a person’s character through the reaction shown when faced with this kind of situation.
The second, of course, was that it was the safest road.
Naturally, if not for the first reason, she would not have deliberately set the route this way.
And yet the more she looked, the less she understood the king’s character. After all, the one being surprised was usually her.
“Uahaha, the fairy fights tremendously well too.”
The count entered the dining hall. He did not show courtesy to Crang. In truth, he did not even pay attention to Crang’s existence and was busy only looking after his own interest.
That interest was choosing the knight of the year.
“It’s you. I’ve decided on you.”
He pointed at Enkrid, seated at the table, and said it.
Enkrid had only just heard from Crang about the origin of the nickname Count Coty.
“Who was it last year?”
Enkrid asked after gulping down the porridge and emptying the bowl. His purpose was obvious. If he found out who it was, he was full of thoughts of going to find that person. One of his complaints was that as many as five knights had gone traveling.
This was something else. Should one say that no one had any interest in this meeting between the Empire and the continent?
“The one I picked last year left the Empire.”
The count said it, and only then looked at the king and laughed heartily.
“I’ve prepared carriages. From here on, you can follow the Imperial road!”
The count changed the subject suitably. What was the point of digging out words he did not want to say?
Enkrid did not ask further, and Crang nodded, saying he saw. After all, this Margrave seemed to have no interest in what happened to him.
“How many days can you stay?”
The count suddenly asked Seriana in a serious tone. The executor glanced at Crang’s mood and said,
“We leave tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
The count showed great regret, then his eyes met Enkrid’s.
“Can’t you go about two days without sleeping? You can sleep in the carriage, can’t you?”
Leaving aside measuring skill, the count also enjoyed fighting itself. Enkrid responded to those words.
“Of course.”
“Hey, you haven’t forgotten why we came all the way here, have you?”
Rem asked. No answer came back.
Enkrid had already grabbed his sword and gone out, and the count followed behind him. The two fought until the next morning, then ate, slept, rested, and washed together, and by the time they were leaving, they had become close enough to put their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Of course, if a human arm went around a giant’s shoulder, that would be hanging on rather than putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Ah, I want to quit being Margrave.”
He said he wanted to follow Enkrid.
“You said you swore an oath with the emperor, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, so I can’t go. Such a shame!”
This giant expressed his affection simply and clearly. Rather than expressed, it would be more correct to say he burst it out, because he did not merely say that. He also added that if they ended up fighting the Empire, he would go easy on them a little, so they should come this way.
“Count, that is treason.”
Seriana, unable to watch any longer, said it, and the count laughed heartily.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. The emperor isn’t petty.”
He only spoke as though shouting it.
“Now I truly look forward to meeting the emperor.”
Crang said as he climbed into the carriage. The emperor had a vessel capable of gathering even a giant like that. It would have been impossible not to be curious.
“We are on our way to meet him now.”
Seriana answered calmly. She had expected that he would get along well with Count Coty, but even she had not known they would form this much of a friendship.
This king and the captain of the Mad Order of Knights were curious people in many ways.
“I’ll be the driver!”
Meanwhile, the female assassin volunteered to be the driver. Jaxon’s brow narrowed for a moment, then smoothed again.
“Wow, you’d better be careful.”
Rem teased Jaxon while watching that.

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