Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 692

692. Blind spots, errors, and contradictions

Even though he had heard the Emperor’s name, he openly refused, and even that was without a valid reason, ending it with just one word: “I don’t like it.” The recruiter groaned but didn’t question him.

“This stubbornness.”

He just mumbled like this.
He could hear everything, but Gaju ignored him and turned his gaze away. Judging from his tone of voice, it seemed like the two of them were not very close.

“Everyone must have their own reasons for coming here. Ragnar said what he wanted.”

After a firm rejection, he turned his gaze to find Anne, who had already finished her meal.

‘Is this consideration?’

The host waited until Anne had eaten her fill. Her words did not convey any emotion or consideration, but since she is only asking now, it would be safe to assume that there was some consideration.

‘Is it your habit to speak with your actions no matter what you do?’

Instead of showing her feelings?
Encred thought so.
The rest were familiar and didn’t say much. Alexandra Jawn just smiled quietly.
Her eyes seemed to be studying Anne’s face, gestures, and attitude, but there was no malice in those eyes.
Anne swallowed hard and said what she wanted to say.

“I heard you have been suffering from a long-term illness. I may be able to cure it.”

Although it was not a definitive answer, Anne’s attitude as she spoke was filled with determination that she would definitely do so.
Looking at it this way, her steadfastness was not easy either.

‘Even though I know my life is in danger, it’s not easy for an ordinary person to readily take medicine, fall asleep, and entrust my life to Ragna.’

That was Encred’s assessment.

“I am talking about the punishment that has been handed down to us.”

Then he added an explanation. Jawoon has been suffering from one chronic illness after another. In recent years, it has gotten worse.
Anne’s words have made Gaju indifferent. He doesn’t even flinch at the corners of his eyes.

‘Will there be a change in expression on that face?’

Even if one of his arms was cut off, he would just stare blankly like that.

‘No, I won’t just watch, right?’

If the fight is over, he will stop the bleeding. And if the fight is not over, he will take the opponent’s neck in return for giving up his arm. The momentum he still shows is surprising.
It seems like he will throw out his sword at any moment, but on the other hand, if someone suddenly attacks him, he will just watch blankly.
In other words, he is unpredictable.

“With a son who wants to see the sunrise.”

The head of the household opens his mouth. He cuts off the conversation and looks around the room as he continues.

“The brazen young lady who wants to cure illness.”
“And then there’s Schmidt.”

His wife added, nodding to the recruiter.
The recruiter’s name seemed to be Schmidt. It was clear that the couple had known each other for a long time.

“Tempe, this is also a proposal for you and your family.”

Schmidt changed his tone. Earlier he had been speaking as an imperial recruiter, but now he spoke in a friendly tone.

“I still don’t like it.”

Gaju answered again, showing his firm determination. Even though he had no emotions, his words were clear.
Schmidt groaned again.

“what’s your name?”

Alexandra put down her fork and knife and neatly folded her plate, and asked Anne. Anne answered similarly, putting away her dishes.

“I’m Anne. I’m an alchemist, but I also cure diseases. Isn’t there someone here who comes to me when they’re sick? I do something similar to that person.”

If you are a group that lives together, there will be people who come to you when you get sick or get sick.

“When we get sick or show signs of the disease I mentioned earlier, we go to Mileschia. Mileschia is also the godmother of these children.”

Alexandra opened her hand and pointed at Ragnar and Grida, then looked at Anne intently. Was her gaze filled with exploration? Or suspicion?
Grida called it a heavenly punishment.

‘A punishment from heaven.’

It would be along the same lines as calling it a curse.
Also, even though Anne said it was a disease, not a curse, and that she would cure it, Magrun didn’t really trust her body or have any expectations.
It wasn’t just that she didn’t say try it once or ask her to examine her body, she never showed any signs of doing so.

‘There are no expectations.’

I know that because I have met other healers and tried many different things.

‘If not, then maybe Mileschia is a great healer and knows that if she can’t do it, then no one else can easily do it.’

The place Magrun stopped by as soon as he got here would be where Milescia was.
His physical condition wasn’t normal the whole time he came here.
Alchemists say that age represents one’s ability.
No matter how talented or capable you are, it’s a field where it’s hard to see results if you don’t put in the time.
On the outside, Anne looks so young that you’d think she’d just turned twenty. This must have been a factor that made it hard to have any expectations about her.
In other words.

‘I will refuse to give it to you.’

It is a prediction based on logic.
The head of the household paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“If you need anything, just let me know, Anne. And it’s been a while since I’ve been back, but I think it would be nice to have a familiar face help me out. Grida.”
“Yes, I will.”

It was a prediction failure.

“Ragnar, are you ready?”

The gaze of the head of the household fell on Ragna’s forehead. The torn hair and the marks of the blow were clear.

“Not today.”

Ragnar was about to answer and leave. He was going to clean up the dishes and say hello to everyone.
Encred asked during that gap.

“Why don’t you ask what I want to do?”

Alexandra answered instead.

“It was so obvious that I didn’t ask.”

As expected, Encred knew that he was not a simple person.
Just because he was honest, it didn’t mean he was simple.
He was here to protect Anne, and he had plans to tell her the truth about what had happened when he came here, and he was also in a position to support Ragnar as his friend.
Furthermore, what was happening in Zaun right now was not simple.
Encred knew that his business could not be summarized in a few words, because he was willing to get involved in this complexity if he was wrong.
Therefore, the word “obvious” has a blind spot. It could even be called an error.

‘You could say it’s a contradiction.’

Encred came to a conclusion inwardly. He concluded that no matter what the other person said, he would point out the contradiction.
Then, after he had mentally prepared himself, Gaju spoke to Encred.

“Let’s take turns having a game tomorrow morning with my wife.”

Encred answered without even taking a breath.

“Yes, that’s right.”

It’s a duel. Then, can’t we put off other issues for a while?
Odinkar’s disappearance? He disappeared on his own accord. In other words, this wasn’t a disappearance, but a runaway or going out.
Ragnar left when he was young, saying he would go out for a while, and returned now that he was an adult.
If Ragnar did that, Odinkar could do that too.
Even if that’s not the case, don’t they say that men sometimes need a cave where they can be alone?
If he needs that cave now, then it could be possible.
The attack on the way here?
Would telling the head of the household change anything?
Someone tried to kill Anne and prevented her from coming here. That’s all. And wouldn’t Grida or Magrun know all about these things?

‘I’m not going to step forward.’

So just spar. It
won’t be complicated. Encred knew how to see things simply, even if they were complicated.

‘That’s who I am.’

Encred drew out the rationality within himself and completed it.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. You can go. Just tell me where to stay.”

Everyone left without saying a word, but only Schmidt, the imperial recruiter, did not leave his chair.
As they left the living room/dining room, Encred’s gaze briefly fell on Schmidt.

“Come this way.”

A neatly dressed servant guided Encred. Schmidt’s voice could be heard through the squeaking shut of the restaurant door.

“Is this really going to happen?”

It was a tone of blame, although not a bone-chilling resentment.
The doors that had been open on both sides closed, and a long line between the doors seemed to divide the worlds on this side and the other side.
Through that line, Gaju’s eyes and Encred’s eyes met for a moment.

‘Should I say it’s pumpkin colored?’

The eyes of the guardian angel glowed orange, reflecting the color of the lamp.

thud.

There was a heavy slam of the door shut, along with Schmidt’s urging words.

“Say something. You’re not saying this for my sake.”

Those words were not indifferent. It was clear to anyone who heard them that there was concern behind them.

‘If it’s not for your own good.’

Who are you talking about?
I wondered, but it was not my place to interfere. Shouldn’t I prepare for tomorrow right now?
Encred turned his back to the closed door and walked.
Just because he was a knight, the things he had to do with his own hands didn’t change. For example, just swinging a sword wouldn’t make the sweaty smell of his dusty elven underwear disappear.
It was the same as cleaning away the dust that had piled up on his cloak used to block the wind, and the rocks and clumps of black dirt stuck in the soles of his boots.
Just swinging a sword wouldn’t solve anything.
He remembered the words of someone who had once mastered mercenary work. If he was respected even after he was fifty, he could be called the king of mercenaries. He
should have retired or died before that, but the fact that he survived was proof of his humanity, and it was okay to say that he had been chosen by the goddess of fortune.
Anyway, as he said.

“In a fight, preparation is seven out of ten. Isn’t it obvious that the one who sets up well and manages his equipment well has the advantage?”

Admittedly, Encred had taken his words to heart and engraved them as jewels.

‘I think the bottom of the boots could be cut with a knife.’

Encred scraped the soles of his boots with the tip of his shortsword in front of his assigned quarters, and cleaned them.
His boots were made of troll leather and iron plates from Pen-Hanilsan. They showed signs of wear from long use, but they were still sturdy.
He lifted the shoes and sniffed them, but there was no foul odor.
Grida, who had a solid track record as a guide, passed by and threw him a leather pouch.

“If you put that in, the smell will go away a little.”

When I took it, something like a white stone came out. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a dry soap that hadn’t been used for a long time. If I left it in a dry shoe overnight, it would get rid of the smell.

“Where are you going?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been back, so I’m going to look around.”

As he spoke, the setting sun cast a shadow in front of Grida. The shadow quickly shrank and disappeared.
Grida’s pace was not much different from when he came here. He was as fast as he needed to be.
Either he had a lot of places to stop by or he had a lot to find out.

‘I need to do some laundry.’

Encred thought as he went to the well in the castle and drew water, then washed and wrung out his undergarments and cloak.
Even though the cloak didn’t get clean after a few swings of his sword, it went without saying that the knight’s outstanding strength was excellent at squeezing out the laundry.

Kkudduk.

The sturdy cloak twisted and spat out the moisture it had held onto the ground.
Ragnar and Anne came out and did the same thing.
A few maids came over and handed me a small club. They were giving it to me to beat the laundry with. The area under my eyes was dark and I looked like I was in pain.

“Where does it hurt?”

Anne asked after seeing that.

“it’s okay.”

The maid answered. Encred’s eyes scanned the maid’s waist as she answered. Here, the maid also carried a sword.

“then.”

After checking the equipment, the piled up laundry, the short sword, and the horned dagger, it was already night.
Although he arrived when the sun had risen, time had passed quickly while he washed, ate, and cleaned up.
As he lay down on the bed filled with feathers and wool, he quickly became drowsy.
Just as a knight cannot do laundry with a sword, his stamina is not infinite.
He must rest when he needs to. Encred thought that now was the time.
Ragnar was in the room on the left, and Anne’s room was next to him.
He thought for a moment, and soon fell asleep.
Then, when Encred opened his eyes, he glanced at the boatman.
The master of bad taste holding the lamp spoke.

“Watch out.”

It was a word without an object. So it was difficult to know its exact meaning.

* * *

“Schmidt, the story is over.”

Alexandra shook her head.
While the maid and the attendant cleared the table, the three moved to the small reception room next door.
Schmidt took a sip of tea made with dried flower petals. His throat was parched. He did so because he could not understand their stubbornness.

“Alex, you guys need help.”

Schmidt was anxious, but he knew that nothing could be done without their permission.

“But that doesn’t mean you can become a duke of the empire with the name Shield.”

Tempest Zawn, the head of the house, answers, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

“Tempe.”
“Stop it. Schmidt, I do not accept imperial titles.”

The Empire has been asking Zaun to join the Empire for a very long time.
They will give you the title of Duke, and you will become the shield of the East. That is why you are the Shieldmaster.
Tempest Zaun, nicknamed Temperan, has repeatedly refused.

“It takes the power of the empire to cure the disease.”

Schmidt said.
The Empire is not a group that prioritizes philanthropy. They are strictly profit-seeking.
Schmidt wants to help them, but in order to help them, Zaun has to reach out first.

“No need.”

The head of the household shook his head.

“That’s not a curse.”

Schmidt spoke again.
Gaju closed her mouth. That mouth, once closed like a clam, would not open easily. Schmidt knew this well.
When he turned his gaze, Alex, the woman who had once been his stepsister, shook her head.

“Leave it, Schmidt.”
“Why?”
“I’ve told you many times. I won’t swing my sword for someone else just to save my own life. Each person in Zawoon has the freedom to swing their sword for what they want.”

They fill their emptiness with the sword. They also pursue freedom with the sword. Since that is the kind of place that Jaun is, it cannot become the shield of the empire.
So if the head of the household here decides to become the shield of the empire, they can no longer become Jaun.
They become part of the empire and become swords that cut down the enemies that the emperor points to.
Jaun cannot do that because they do not pursue such a life.

“What good is it if I’m dead?”

Schmidt was frustrated, but he just knew that he couldn’t get his way this time either.
There are things in this world that are more precious than life. Some would say it’s a dream, others would say it’s stubbornness or obstinacy.
The same thing happened to Gaju.