Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 629

629. Swing hard

A tree giant smoking a cigarette? Of course, this was the first time I saw it. Before Encred could open his mouth, the tree giant spoke again.

“Ah, you’re a human. Then this is the first time I’ve seen you.”

The copper-colored eyes, which seemed to have been carved from tree bark, were truly fascinating. The eyes blinked and stared at Encred. I had heard that they were made of wood.

“……Woodguard?”

Luagarne asked, tilting her head, half a step behind Encred.

“That’s right.”

The white-haired fairy nodded.
Woodguard, one of the elves created by the forest gods long ago to protect and guard the trees.
So not all fairies were like Shinar.
Fairies were a broad category, and included Dryus, Woodguard, and Wing Fairies.
Dryus was said to be a race that resembled lime-green leaves, and Wing Fairies were fairies smaller than the palm of one’s hand with wings.
Yes, I knew that.
However, I couldn’t imagine smoking such a delicious cigarette.
Between the lips where the bark and dry leaves were tangled, a red light flashed and disappeared at the end of the cigarette made by rolling brown leaves.

Ouch.

When he blew out the smoke, the smoke floated around like a cloud.
How did he do that?
Even the guy who used to live off of cigarettes as a mercenary was only good at blowing out smoke in a circular shape.
If that mercenary, who was obsessed with cigarette tricks, saw him, he would immediately shout, “Master,” and cling to me.

“Can I have one?”

The tree giant asked.

“You’re being rude to your guests, Bran.”
“What’s rude about that? It’s not like the stuff humans smoke. It’s good for your health.”

The tree giant spoke and walked to one side. The bark of the tree made a rustling sound as it rubbed against the ground.

“I don’t normally smoke.”

Encred answered only then. He was a man. If there was anything surprising, he was surprised. The time for that surprise was now.
What is that tree giant? Why is a tree burning tobacco? Shouldn’t it be careful with fire, since it’s a tree?
Despite that, he could see him walking to one side, smoking his tobacco very deliciously.
What if he catches fire?
Was Sinar being unnecessarily careful with fire?
All sorts of thoughts came to mind.
When Bran, a woodguard, stepped aside, the surrounding scenery came into view, but no one paid attention to the tree giant burning tobacco.
Instead, everyone was busy looking at Encred and his party.
Encred reflexively scanned his surroundings with his eyes.

“Whether you fight or not, observation is essential.”

This was Luagarne’s teaching. Encred did as he said.
There was an open space at the entrance of the city, and large trees lined the area. So the open sky was visible, and warm sunlight poured down from there.
It was quiet and peaceful. Overall, the city had a calm atmosphere.
Birds and insects could be heard, but that was also like background music symbolizing peace.
Encred used his insight to perceive his surroundings. There were many things that caught his eye.
There was an elf that had dug into a large, old tree and stuck its head out like a squirrel.
There were also several tree giants similar to Bran under the old trees.
They were all of a size that gave the illusion of depth.
Some were bigger than Audin, and there were many that were twice as big as humans, like actual giants.
One of them seemed to be three times as big.
The largest tree giant seemed to just look like a large tree if he closed his eyes and mouth.
After taking in what he saw, Encred widened his field of vision once more.
Looking at the whole thing, it was a large open space in the middle, surrounded by wooden structures.
However, it didn’t seem like this was all there was to the city.

‘Is the city formed by a forest as a boundary?’

It was a place where a group of fairies lived, sometimes in the hundreds, sometimes over a thousand. It was not a size that could be seen at a glance.
Even if you walked around, it would take several days.
The city was big. Even bigger than the Border Guard
. The main roads were not as well-paved as the forest that made up the area, but there were paths that could be entered here and there between the trees.
After observing narrowly and taking in wide eyes,
Encred caught the thing that caught his attention the most. It was the floor of a wooden structure that was presumed to be a house.
The structure itself looked like a natural wooden house made by a squirrel who entered the construction guild. The roots dug through the floor and held it firmly in place. It was because it had not lost its wooden shape overall.
Why was that so catchy?

‘why?’

Encred asked himself twice and sought answers. His senses were telling him that all of this was not an ordinary house.
It looked like a tree with roots in the ground, but that was not all.

‘It looks like a structure that moves when you put it in.’

Intuition told me so.
It was absolutely impossible to see how they were arranged in such a neat shape around the empty space.
The color of the soil around the roots was also a little different.
It was an outstanding observation. Was what he learned from Saxon just a sensory skill?
He always valued an attitude of accepting situations.
Here, the fact that he should familiarize himself with his surroundings before fighting was something that made Luagarne burst.
Encred simply did what he was taught. Even if he learned slowly, it was natural to not forget after learning.
It was not easy for others to forget because they struggled for a week while learning in a day. It was even more
so because he always did his best with an attitude of listening.
All of those elements made him not forget what he had learned.

‘The house is moving?’

The conclusion was this.
Other than that, there were only dry, glassy eyes that did not easily show emotions.
Encred’s sensitive sense felt a sense of wonder and curiosity among the glassy eyes, but if you only look at them from the outside.

“Why are your eyes like that?”

It was just as Fel said. Since I couldn’t read the emotion in his eyes, it seemed to evoke natural fear.
It wasn’t scary or anything.
Fel said the same thing, but he was indifferent. Maybe
he thought that since he had been through a lot, he would be okay.
In reality, it was close to being able to be indifferent to such things after experiencing Encred. Fel had survived among the madmen and reached the present.
His mental power had also become incomparably stronger than before.

“Human guests? How curious.”

One of them approached and spoke.
It was Dryus, one of the forest clans who were skilled in healing and whose race itself was very feminine, with almost no males.
The Dryus who approached was also a woman. Her hair was dark green and her skin was light green. Rather than the beauty of a human, her appearance was more like the coolness of the forest.
Her clothes made of unknown green cloth with golden embroidery made her look even more mysterious.
The Dryus glanced at the group with green eyes that seemed to be carved with leaves and opened her mouth again.

“Is it different from things like potato sprouts?”

It was calm and quiet, yet violent.
That was the feeling, and Encred emptied his mind halfway from this point on.
They say that you have to empty yourself to fill up. If you let go of your preconceptions and prejudices, you can accept anything.
In a moment, my attitude changed.
The white-haired fairy noticed it with her characteristic sensitivity and was inwardly surprised.

‘You have a strong and upright mind.’

It’s surprising, so I’m surprised, but I’m not scared. Just accept them as they are. I could see the boldness that was implied in this.

“Everyone must be surprised since it’s not the time for guests to come.”

The white hair fairy said.

“It’s been a while since we had a human guest.”

The other tree giants heard the words. The voice sounded like the sound of a fallen leaf being stepped on. It
was rustling, but strangely audible, and the meaning seemed to be conveyed clearly.
Brando and the Woodguards’ voices were very unique.
Encred looked at the giants in front of him, and thought that the Woodguards would not be able to tell them apart by appearance.
Compared to them, it was easier to tell the appearance of Frock apart.
But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

“It’s been a long time, human. It’s really been a long time.”

He spoke again, rustling.
The vocal organs themselves were different, so the pronunciation was unique. But it was enough to hear. Since I was surprised by everything, I just accepted it as it was.
If acceptance is an ability and talent, then Encred was the best on the continent.
When the Mad Knights, including Rem, were a bunch of troublemakers, Encred was the man who had been with them and their squad leader.
Even if Woodguard had a unique appearance, it wouldn’t be as unique as Rem’s personality.
Encred looked straight at the tree giant blocking the empty lot. It was time for self-introductions. Even though it was a city of fairies, the conversations between intelligent beings weren’t that different. That was the atmosphere.

“Encred of the Border Guard.”

Encred spoke as usual. There was a short silence.

“That’s the demon slayer sir.”

The large fairy who followed the white-haired fairy from behind added an explanation. At those words, several fairies around him opened their mouths.

“Demon Slayer?”
“Iron Knight?”
“Devilish Knight?”
“Heartbreaker?”

Everyone spoke in a calm tone, as if they were reading a book, but that was a sign of surprise.
Their glassy eyes seemed to have widened slightly.
Encred’s heart wavered for a moment at the last title among the words the fairies muttered.
No, the nickname “heartbreaker” didn’t seem to come up anywhere else, so why did it come up here?
Encred was genuinely puzzled.
In any case, similar to before, he felt a faint liking for them.

“I’ll guide you inside.”

The white-haired fairy said. So, with that kindness, he went inside, for some unknown reason. As he passed by on one side of the open space, the fairies’ gazes did not leave his. It must have been quite burdensome.
Because the eyes, which were hidden with indifference but filled with respect, seemed to be observing Encred closely.
It might have been better if he had whispered something, but they all just stared.
The fairies, Druis, and Woodguard were all similar. If the instrument called eyes were to play the song called gaze, it would be an orchestra with a duet of observation and curiosity mixed appropriately with kindness.
And it would be an orchestra that could not be heard unless you listened very quietly.

“Come here.”

The white-haired fairy led us into a house dug out of a tree. It was inside a large tree that was the second on the left side of the vacant lot.
The entrance was higher than I thought, and the inside was not very spacious, but it felt cozy.
The humidity and temperature were just right, and the table covered with a green tablecloth in the room we entered after passing through a short hallway made of walls that looked like tangled tree roots gave off a refreshing feeling.
In fact, since it was inside a tree, it was probably natural that the fresh scent of grass filled the air.

“It smells like summer. Even though it’s a very cold day.”

Fel muttered.
It was exactly as he said. It was a scent that combined the scent of grass, the scent of old trees, and the smell of the earth.
It seemed like he didn’t need any perfume. The scent of trees that came from Shinar was everywhere here.
Of course, the scent that came from Shinar was stronger and better.
Fel and Luagarne, who followed Encred, also looked around left and right, impressed by the fairy structures.
They were made by cutting down a whole tree, but the furniture and the shape of the house were all unique.
Looking at the chair in front of the table, it was not an ordinary chair, but rather barely formed into a chair.
If left on the street, it would have looked like a lump of wood.
In other words, a lump of wood that had grown in an unnatural way.

“You said you came to find Shinar of the Kirhais family?”

The white-haired fairy sitting on the chair asked.

“Yes.”

Encred answered. That was the purpose of coming here.
It was also the reason why I decided to just accept the surprise and wonder for now and think about it later.
Originally, I thought it wouldn’t be hard to meet her once I arrived.
Did you say you were doing your duty? That means you were doing something for the city, so I thought she would naturally be in the city for that reason, but now that I look at it, it doesn’t seem like that.
If she was there, wouldn’t she have come out to greet me, saying, “
Did you miss me, fiancé?” Or maybe she would have said, “Have you decided to get married?”
But that didn’t happen, so Shinar isn’t here. My rational judgment and my intuition both made that judgment.

“What an unexpected guest, really.”

While the white-haired fairy was saying a few more words, a silver-haired fairy came out of the passage leading into the house and offered tea.
The teacup was similar to the chair. It was like a piece of wood with holes in it.
The tea in it was edible. No, it was excellent.
If I had time to savor the taste of the tea, I would have left a rave review.

“Isn’t Sinar here?”

Encred asked even though he knew. Some questions are asked even though he knew it. He was quick-witted, so there was no need to beat around the bush.

“That’s right.”

The white-haired fairy nodded.

“Are you dead?”

No, I don’t think so. As I said, I asked even though I knew. There are things you have to hear even though you know. This question was the same.
The white-haired fairy shook her head.

“For several years, you will not be able to die even if you want to.”

I felt a strong scent of emotion in the words of the white-haired fairy. It was something like regret and remorse.
It was a clear emotion that I felt for the first time since meeting him.
Of course, if I were a human, it would be just a little bit of emotion that was expressed while talking.
A few thoughts crossed my mind.
I don’t know the details, but is he tied up somewhere and in the main state?

“Can you tell me more about the story?”

Since the other party was kind to him, Encred had no reason to show hostility.
Not only the fairy in front of him, but even the fairy who had given him the tea was kind to him.

“I have something to ask, too.”

The question returned as a question, and this time again, the emotion was felt properly.
Although it was wrapped in indifference, the earnestness that pierced through the wrapping was clear.
Encred waited for him to ask. It was patience. He said that Sinar was not dead right away, so all he had to do was find a way to meet him.
Was this a lie?

“They say that fairies are a race that has difficulty telling lies.”

The words Shinar had said came to mind. It couldn’t be a lie.
A fairy who had gone out to the continent and was worn down by the waves might be able to discuss lies.
However, for a fairy who was born and raised in a society where people could tell the truth of each other’s words due to their sensitivity, lies were just unnecessary elements.
In the language of fairies, there was no word for lies
. The white-haired fairy took a moment to open her mouth. Her voice was careful yet calm, calm yet earnest.

“Do you know how to kill a demon?”

Encred did not answer right away. He needed to answer carefully because he could see the earnestness in his opponent.
Encred moved his lips in thought, paused for a moment, and then nodded his head after gathering his thoughts once more before opening his mouth. He answered with sincerity, as if he was repaying the kindness of his opponent.

“I’m going to hit hard.”

Silence flowed. No one dared open their mouths. A rustling sound could be heard from the other side of the room. It was so quiet that it seemed as if the sound could be heard from the next room.

“……I’m embarrassed.”

Breaking the silence, Fel muttered. Luagarne looked at the fairy for a moment and then added.

“I didn’t mean to tease you.”

Encred thought about what I had said for a moment and realized my mistake.
It was all because of that little Rem kid. Ragnar, Saxon, and Audin were also at fault.
As I spent time with them and talked about swordsmanship and martial arts, I had no choice but to give concise and clear answers.
There were too many things I couldn’t explain no matter how hard I tried.
That habit was still showing up.
Encred realized his mistake and added words to try to correct it.

“I’ll fight until I die.”
“Should I sew my mouth shut?”

Pel muttered again.

“It wasn’t to this extent.”

Luagarne muttered and then looked at the fairy again and spoke.

“I really didn’t mean to tease you.”