"Something ominous is approaching."
A violet lamp, a boat floating on the black river, and the ferryman.
It was a space he had grown so familiar with that he could draw it with his eyes closed.
It was a dream, and he was on the ferryman's boat.
"What ominous thing do you mean?"
Encrid asked as he sat perched at the edge of the boat. Should he cross his legs? As he was pondering that, the ferryman's eyes turned towards him.
"I can't tell you any more."
The response was like that of a severe mood swinger.
Encrid looked at the ferryman with such a gaze.
The ferryman's personality changed every time he saw him, and his speech would shift, and he would speak whatever came to mind.
Dealing with such fickle people wasn't difficult for Encrid.
His experience traveling the continent just to learn swordsmanship hadn't gone to waste.
Fighters, mercenaries, bodyguards for nobles, swordsmen in merchant companies, swordsmanship instructors at schools—among them, there were many unique and eccentric individuals.
Among the most peculiar were his current company members.
He had experience in abundance.
Comparing pure personality alone, the ferryman might even be better than Rem.
At times like this, there was no need to agree with or show emotion to the other party.
"I see."
Encrid agreed, pausing for a moment before asking another question.
"How do you know that the omen is coming?"
The ferryman didn't answer. It seemed he really had no intention of saying anything more. The ferryman's gaze fell away from Encrid.
And then, suddenly, everything went dark.
When he opened his eyes, it was morning. The summer sun rose early, and by the time he trained the Isolation Technique, the surroundings were already bright.
Encrid focused on his training as usual.
Jaxon, who had been deep in thought since leaving the palace, had suddenly become friendly with the other members after sparring with him, but now he had returned to his original self.
Not only had he returned to his old self, but he had also left, saying he had business to attend to and would be gone for a few days.
If he had been there, Encrid would have sparred with him again, so it was a shame.
"Good morning, brother."
A little while later, Audin followed him out.
Behind him came Teresa, Dunbachel, Lawford, and Pel.
"It's brutal for the morning."
Pel remarked.
It was obvious just by looking. This wasn't training to show someone, it was just training for training's sake.
"When are you going to challenge him?"
A poor substitute.
"Not yet."
It was clear that a cursed spirit must have attached itself to him because he hadn't sparred.
Pel's hands were itching as well. However, it was obvious he would lose, so he didn't want to challenge.
Shepherds always moved efficiently.
'Still, there's really something about him that gets your blood boiling.'
Watching him made something in your chest boil over.
Since there was no way to force someone who didn't want to fight, Encrid turned his head and started pushing his body with Audin.
Starting with striking techniques, they took on strange postures that stretched their muscles to the point of tearing.
"Muscles that lose flexibility are just useless flesh."
Audin's teachings continued.
Teresa coached Lawford's training, Dunbachel, dripping with sweat, followed Encrid's training.
After a nightmarish dream or a trick by the ferryman, morning training was routine.
After that, various tasks awaited Encrid.
It had been half a month since he returned to the Border Guard. The days were becoming familiar.
For example, the Battalion Commander now addressed him as 'General'.
There was a lot of work, but since Krais was tackling most of it, there wasn't much for Encrid to do.
"I think it would be good to standardize the soldiers' equipment. After that, we could divide them by unit and train them."
Training.
"We plan to expand that outpost. We'll turn it into a proper fort. Right now, there are only about twenty soldiers, but we aim to accommodate at least a hundred. If we give them names, it will give them a sense of belonging, and they'll defend it better. That's my prediction."
Security.
"The nobles keep sending gifts, but I'll handle the replies myself."
Diplomacy.
"Rockfreed's Trading Company is doing well and wants to open branches in the surrounding cities. Will you allow it? If not, Leona might get upset."
Economy.
"We've increased the soldiers' pay and are selecting a few capable individuals to serve as stewards. There's a lot of good land lying fallow, which is a waste. But since that land is in Green Pearl, how about we set up a few more outposts around the gateway?"
Finances too.
At this rate, even ten of Krais wouldn't be enough.
"Are you even eating properly?"
Encrid asked, wiping off sweat. He was training with a practice sword, one that weighed five times as much as a regular iron sword, practicing weapon control.
"Hmm?"
Krais turned his head and asked back.
"Aren't you busy?"
Even the genie from one of the fairy tales from the Eastern Continent, who appears when you rub a lamp, wouldn't work this hard.
"Just busy enough."
"Should we raise your salary too?"
"I'm already at my limit. If I take any more, I'd be earning more than the Lord of the Border Guard."
He's not someone who would neglect his own pockets, that's for sure.
Encrid nodded.
"And do I really do the work? I just oversee things from above."
That's exactly what Encrid was doing now. Krais had even gone out and gotten an official seal made from somewhere.
Though he wasn't originally a noble despite being called a General, Encrid now wielded authority that could easily put any average noble to shame.
After all, an entire territory that once belonged to the leader of a rebellion had fallen into his hands, and he was known as the hero who saved the nation, the Demon Slayer, and a friend of the King.
"I've also brought in Gilpin to help out. I'm pulling in people from here and there. The Rockfreed Trading Company has been a great help, especially with handling matters related to numbers."
Encrid let Krais handle things on his own. Honestly, even if he took charge, he didn't think he could manage as well as Krais.
Encrid boldly entrusted most tasks to Krais, only keeping a close eye on a few matters.
One of those was the armament of the soldiers.
"We'll divide them into spearmen, swordsmen, and shieldmen. Basic training will involve handling all weapons, and the armament will be like this."
The basic equipment for the swordsmen included a longsword, a dagger, a wrist-mounted mini-crossbow Krais had developed after harassing a few blacksmiths and workshops, armor lined with oil-soaked linen and covered in leather, arm and shin guards, three throwing knives, a hand axe, a kite shield, a leather helmet with cloth padding, and a short club.
The mini-crossbow was a weapon Krais had thought of after seeing something similar used by bandits in the past.
Spearmen and archers had similar equipment except for their main weapons.
'If they're fully armed and you add even a backpack, isn't that basically torture?'
Krais thought as he looked at his Commander. Encrid quickly replied.
"Send back anyone who complains that this is too hard."
There was a time when the Border Guard Reserve Unit was so short on numbers that they had to accept anyone who came and send them straight to the battlefield.
But that wasn't necessary anymore.
"Instead of a large number of soldiers, focus on training a certain number of elite ones."
Krais agreed with that sentiment. Everything they were discussing was designed to improve the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.
Although they had set up an office, they didn't use it much, preferring to discuss these matters in one of the training grounds, where they were shaping the future of the soldiers.
Swordsmen, spearmen, archers, shieldmen, cavalry, and mounted archers.
Encrid would outline the big picture, and Krais would add his wisdom to it.
"Since we're doing this, how about gathering some of the better soldiers to form a new unit under your command? You know that we can't remain an Independent Company forever, right?"
Nod.
Encrid conveyed the decisions they had made to Krais.
"Rem, gather some good men and form a new unit."
It would be nice if they could become a strike force, capable of tearing through the enemy when war broke out.
"Huh? Are you serious?"
Encrid hesitated for a moment. Forming a unit might end up just crippling the soldiers instead.
"I said to form a unit, not torment them."
"I'll do my best."
Rem said as he stood up.
"Don't do your best."
Encrid added, feeling sorry for the soldiers.
He gave the same task to Ragna.
"It's a hassle."
"It's fine if it's cavalry or swordsmen."
"It's a hassle."
After returning from the palace, Ragna dedicated himself to training for a few days, but soon reverted to his old habits, dozing off and lazing around the barracks.
Lawford, undeterred, would sometimes drag him out, grumbling, to the training ground, but Ragna had grown lazy again, just as before.
Lawford, seemingly fearless, repeatedly asked Ragna for sparring matches.
As expected, he often got beaten or received threats of being killed.
"If you keep bothering me, I might just cut off an arm."
"I'll work hard to make sure that doesn't happen!"
Yet, Lawford remained undaunted. He was a bold friend, at least on the surface.
Ragna was the type to follow through on his words, but he probably wouldn't actually cut off an arm.
Probably.
Still, Encrid felt concerned and offered a word of caution.
"Don't cut it off."
"I'll see how it goes."
The response was disturbingly uncertain.
Assigning Lawford to Ragna, who was too lazy to do anything, brought some relief.
When it came to forming units, Lawford, who had trained and been educated in the Knight order, was more skilled.
Dunbachel was paired with Rem.
If Rem kept Dunbachel busy, it would mean the soldiers would be less harassed.
When Encrid mentioned this to Audin, he responded with enthusiasm.
"Good, brother."
He agreed readily, which made Encrid a bit uneasy, so he assigned Teresa to keep an eye on things.
With this, he believed they could train elite soldiers to a certain extent.
After all, they didn't need a large number of troops.
Encrid wasn't the type to shy away from his responsibilities. He did everything he could without cutting down on his training and conditioning time.
Thanks to Krais, his training time hadn't been reduced much at all.
"Let's watch the training. Just do as you normally would."
Luagarne had been officially assigned under Encrid's command, following a request to the palace.
Since then, she had followed him around like a duckling follows its mother.
After joining the Gilpin Guild, she had run into Frog Maelrun while beating up anyone who challenged him in the city, but they had barely acknowledged each other.
They didn't seem to have any interest in each other.
When asked why, she said:
"I am a Frog."
"So why does that matter?"
"They're all living according to their desires, and I have no interest in that Frog's desires."
As he had felt before, Frog didn't bother to learn about anything that didn't interest her.
A Frog as knowledgeable as Luagarne was rare.
Her desire was the pursuit of the unknown, and as a scholarly Frog, she managed it.
"What do you think is the essence of the Correct Sword Technique?"
Luagarne was helpful in many ways, especially in her teachings, which were valuable regardless of her skill level.
A great sparring partner wasn't necessarily a great teacher.
One look at Rem, Ragna, Audin, or Jaxon was enough to confirm that.
Even if they were told to train soldiers, they had terrible talent for teaching itself.
That's how geniuses tend to be.
In that respect, Luagarne was truly an excellent teacher.
"Calculation?"
"Implication and feints."
That was the gist of it.
There was no need to actually swing your sword, by showing a few subtle hints, you should be able to manipulate your opponent into doing what you want.
"Swinging the sword is just the motion you show after everything has been confirmed."
"But when I corner Rem with the Correct Sword Technique, he just counters immediately. What's up with that?"
"That axe is a monster."
Luagarne's eyes could see talent. In her eyes, Rem was a monster.
"And Ragna?"
"That guy's a monster with a sword."
"Audin?"
"His body itself is monstrous."
"And Jaxon?"
"A devious monster?"
Luagarne's vocabulary wasn't particularly impressive, but Encrid actually agreed with her.
"And you, you're an incomprehensible monster."
"Is that so?"
Sometimes Sinar would come by to spar with him, and she would show techniques that sent chills down his spine.
Moreover, it seemed that even those were not all she had, as if she was holding something back.
"Why? Did you think you could easily defeat me, fiance?"
"I think it's about time you changed the way you address me."
"General fiance?"
"Let's not change it."
Krais, just by observing what Encrid was asking for, could infer Krang's true intentions.
"Preparing for war, are we?"
"Probably."
"Hmm, the opponent is Aspen?"
"Probably."
Encrid gave vague answers and moved on, but Krais seemed to have already figured everything out.
He was a man whose thoughts were impossible to read.
Even as they spent their days like that, the ferryman appeared in his dreams every night.
"Something ominous is approaching."
For the fifteenth night, Encrid heard the same words. He wondered if the ferryman wanted to hear him say that he was getting tired of it.
After all, whenever the ferryman saw him, he would call him a wretched, tiresome man.
But in truth, Encrid didn't feel tired of it at all.
"Do you know how close it is?"
"I can't tell you."
He was just curious. The ferryman's words seemed like a wall, a barrier he couldn't understand. That's how he felt.
The ferryman himself didn't know the exact nature of the ominousness.
If events were to unfold and today were to repeat itself, he could see the future that was destined, but knowing everything about an event that hadn't occurred yet was impossible.
Not even a God could do that.
The ferryman thought to himself.
'No, even a repeating today can change.'
The man before him had shown him that.
It was the price.
"Something ominous is approaching."
The ferryman extended his goodwill.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing it."
Watching this cursed man respond so calmly, the ferryman felt slightly, just slightly, irritated, but he didn't withdraw his goodwill.
"The ominousness is near."
"Is that so?"
As usual, Encrid was unfazed.
"Take this seriously, you fool who walks the path of mortality, eventually reaching the doomed today."
"Yes, I'm taking it seriously."
He didn't look serious at all, instead, he seemed full of anticipation. The ferryman found that deeply unsatisfying.
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