Chapter 350 - The Knight Who Chooses the King
The storm raged for another day and, just when it seemed unbearable, it stopped.
It had truly been a tiresome rain.
"Let's take a break before we go."
A little while after the rain ceased, Enkrid spoke. Water was dripping from his body, and on the distant horizon, sunlight peeked faintly through the clouds.
But that too would soon lean toward the west.
They were about to move from the dim skies into the full darkness of night.
"Let's do that."
Ragna nodded.
The issue wasn't the crazy unit. Krang had held out well, but it was the horses that were the problem.
They still had ten more days of riding ahead, but if the horses were already exhausted, what would they do?
Most importantly, if they didn't deal with their wet clothes, they'd easily catch a cold.
Anyone who started coughing would become a problem.
It was just as troublesome if the horses fell ill.
The storm had prevented them from resting properly; all they had done was walk.
"Are we going to waste the time we bought here?"
A guard muttered, almost to himself.
They had killed everyone who came to kill them, buying some time.
Wasn't it time to break free of the enemy's expectations and move on?
Enkrid nodded at the words.
Yes, that's what they were going to do.
The whip-bearing guard didn't say anything more.
What could he say here?
His only job was to focus on protecting his lord.
There was no point arguing here since no one would listen.
He'll figure it out on his own.
A kind of respectful trust had formed.
"Rem, let's start a fire."
"You always make me do the annoying things. What do you think?"
"Is that so? Should I send Ragna instead?"
If he were to go find some dry wood, they might not meet again until next year at this time.
"Forget it."
Rem waved his hand.
"Dunbakel, come with me."
Enkrid attached one of the workers to help.
"…Okay."
Dunbakel reluctantly joined, her displeasure clear. Rem saw this and said:
"Do you want to die?"
"I want to live. No one wants to die."
The conversation between Rem and Dunbakel gradually faded away. It was just a silly joke.
The two moved off the path and toward the forest.
In the meantime, Enkrid, Krang, and Ragna dug into the earth.
The monstrous horse who had been following along, wet from the rain, helped with the digging.
"Good skills," Kran commented, watching him work.
The horse kicked the ground with his feet, digging a hole.
Enkrid placed flat stones on the ground.
Even though the rain had poured heavily, the goods wrapped in oiled cloth and leather were likely dry, but there were no cooking tools among them.
Instead, there were salt and seasoned jerky.
Enkrid took the salt and jerky.
The flat stones would serve as a good surface for grilling the jerky.
Ragna and Dunbakel returned with some branches that, despite the storm, hadn't gotten soaked.
Enkrid split the partly wet branches by hand, using them as kindling, and retrieved flint from his supplies to start the fire.
With a sharp sound, the flint struck, and soon a flame erupted.
Blowing on the fire, it grew larger. He added a few more branches.
Had it not been for the rain, they could have made a bigger fire, but this was the best they could manage now.
"Let's dry our clothes."
Aside from Esther, the only woman was Dunbakel, but she could cover herself in fur if she transformed.
So, she could easily take her clothes off, regardless of who was watching.
It was silly for a beastkin to be embarrassed about being naked in the first place.
"It's not about you. It's about covering yourself so others don't see."
Enkrid instructed Dunbakel to be more considerate.
"Am I too attractive, causing a problem?"
"Pfft."
At that remark, the panther gave a scoff.
Dunbakel didn't take it seriously.
Enkrid found it curious.
What was striking was how Esther got along with everyone in the unit. It would be fair to say she had good relationships with them.
Why?
Was there any particular reason?
There was. It was because of the way people treated Esther.
They didn't reject her as a mage.
The world's prejudice against witches was irrelevant to them.
Especially for Rem, who dealt with shamanism, she felt like a kindred spirit to him.
They did different things and had different skills, but there was a shared bond.
That was why Rem was kind to her.
Ragna didn't care whether Esther was a mage or a shaman.
Audin, if it had been the past, would have called her a heretic, but not anymore.
He had learned from Enkrid and opened up his mind.
He even called Esther "sister" and treated her with respect.
Teresa was no exception.
She had met many mages in the social circles.
Compared to them, Esther was a witch overflowing with social charm.
Dunbakel was the same, though.
She didn't cause him any trouble and was quite beautiful.
Sometimes, it bothered her when Dunbakel tried to monopolize the leader's atention.
Aside from that, Dunbakel liked Esther's long hair.
Wasn't it incredibly soft to the touch?
Even Esther didn't stop Dunbakel from touching her hair.
Her eyes weren't filled with fear, nor were they filled with curiosity.
Everyone simply recognized and respected her as a person.
How could she dislike that?
Do I see these people in a good light?
It was a rare moment for Esther, but she took it as a good sign.
Mages are beings who exist to explore.
For Esther, even this moment was worth investigating.
How would this relationship affect her magic?
It was worth researching.
"Esther, dry your fur."
Esther quietly sat by the campfire at Enkrid's words.
Everyone dried their clothes. They wore only their undergarments, which were made of thin cloth, but they kept them on while drying.
The journey would take about a month, but on the first day, right at the start, they had been ambushed by about thirty assassins.
It wasn't exactly a great beginning.
"Won't you have a drink?"
Rem asked for some alcohol.
Enkrid had already taken out some alcohol and was sipping it.
Rem was asking if they weren't going to share it.
Everyone seemed to have no worries.
"Is there more alcohol?"
Enkrid, possibly tipsy , asked.
The guard shook his head. What was alcohol?
It was hard to believe anyone was thinking about drinking casually in a place like this.
Jaxen handed Enkrid a small bottle.
Enkrid took a sip and nodded.
"It's apple wine."
"I met a master brewer from where we were."
"Impressive."
Enkrid admired it.
"Aren't you going to share?"
Rem approached Jaxen, holding out his hand confidently. Jaxen, still sitting, unsheathed a dagger and swung it. Rem pulled his hand back to avoid it.
"What are you doing?"
"Didn't you offer your wrist for me to cut?"
"Boss, can I kill a stray cat or something?"
Enkrid took another sip of the apple wine and watched the two fight.
Then, he capped the bottle and tossed it.
Rem caught it.
Jaxen didn't make a fuss about what the boss was offering.
The fight ended just like that. Once the tension was broken, they turned away from each other.
Rem didn't grumble any further.
"Hey, let's drink together."
Instead, he spoke to Dunbakel.
Dunbakel was grilling some seasoned jerky on a stone instead of drinking alcohol.
"Mm, this is good."
The seasoning kept the jerky tender. Dunbakel thought it was the best food she had eaten during their camping.
Enkrid shared the same thought as he ate.
Krang took a piece, nodding deeply.
If he became king, he might reward the person who made this jerky.
Ragna, seeing the storm, was reminded of old memories.
Back then, there had been a storm too.
The rain was so heavy that he couldn't see a step ahead.
The falling rain hit hard, as if it could bruise him.
There had been days like that.
Thinking back to a moment in the past, Ragna turned his gaze toward the place where he was born and raised.
He looked toward the north, using the stars in the sky to guide his direction.
"What are you doing?"
Enkrid approached and asked. Ragna's demeanor seemed off.
Ragna answered quietly.
"I'm looking north."
He was looking toward the land of his family and his people.
The land where people like him lived, to the north.
Was this longing, regret, or even hatred?
Looking north, he almost felt the presence of his people across the distance.
"That's to the south."
Enkrid said. Ragna quietly turned his head.
His memories ended there. After moving through the storm, he was hungry.
It was time to fill his stomach.
"You really shouldn't go off alone like that."
Ragna didn't respond to Rem's remark.
As night deepened, it was time for everyone to sleep.
"Jaxen, you stand guard first."
The watch order was roughly decided.
Jaxen would go first, followed by the whip-bearing guard, Rem, Enkrid, and finally Ragna.
In case the enemy tried something with magic, it would be fine.
Esther's eyes were gleaming over there...
Growl, the panther had already fallen asleep next to Enkrid.
Enkrid hugged the panther.
If something troublesome happened, it would handle it.
Krang watched this and spoke.
"A mage who turns into a panther."
The whip-bearing guard still glanced nervously at Esther.
At first, he had been startled by her transformation, and then by her appearance.
But it didn't seem like his resolve wavered.
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