There were more white hairs than black, and his beard was short. His body was moderately trained, but it had passed its pri. There was a slight trace of excess fat that had unknowingly remained. He wasn't soone who had intentionally kept himself in peak form.
Despite this, a certain dignity emanated from him even when he stayed silent. It was as if he was silently saying, "This is what it ans to be a noble."
Through Enkrid's eyes and senses, he perceived the man this way, and it was obvious to him.
So, as he reflected on the words the man had spoken, Enkrid had a thought.
The Marquis, huh.
Enkrid calmly acknowledged that he had fallen for the provocation.
However, there was no point in dwelling on it since nothing would change.
Above all, it was sothing he had been willing to engage with from the start.
At the mont, he felt a strange gratitude that the Marquis had said just the right thing to help him move forward.
But it wasn't sothing that needed imdiate action. The sweat on his body had cooled enough to feel the wind turn cold.
Enkrid set his axe spear down and placed his other weapons in the weapon rack next to the training ground to prevent any dew from forming on them.
More than anything, he was hungry. He had trained and faced the Marquis. He was famished. It was ti for lunch.
"Shall we eat?"
As he closed the weapon rack door, Enkrid spoke.
Kin looked up at those words, wondering if Enkrid was making the al suggestion for him.
No one said anything. None of them even offered to help.
Do these people not have eyes?
He suddenly felt less confident about his appearance. With that, he had no desire to stay here any longer.
"I'll be going."
Kin left. The five guards waiting outside were all standing in perfect posture. They appeared to be skilled.
Enkrid briefly glanced at them and thought.
They're dragging them around.
Well, considering the rumors about the capital's security being in disarray, they must have needed that many guards.
The Marquis had brought surprisingly few.
After Kin had left, Enkrid walked toward the mansion and spoke.
"Not interested?"
Andrew was right next to him.
Enkrid had seen Andrew glance toward Kin a few tis and asked the question, as he had sent him off quietly.
"I'm busy saving the family. There's no ti to waste on anything else."
Enkrid nodded, agreeing. There was nothing right or wrong about it. Such things weren't really part of life.
It was all just a matter of personal choice.
Enkrid respected Andrew's decision.
"The captain is quite unique," Andrew remarked.
Enkrid, hearing the often-repeated comnt, let it pass without much attention. It was better than being told to go get healed at the temple.
"Oh, I was just about to say I'm hungry."
Dunbakel approached from behind and spoke. Enkrid firmly replied that no al would be served until they had washed up.
Of course, he had washed as well.
A short while later, they gathered around the table, and the nu was laid out.
The maid who had made a mistake with the Marquis had cald herself and diligently carried the food and drinks.
Soon, a hearty al filled the table.
Today's nu was stew made with carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and beef, poured with wine and simred.
It was one of Naurillia's traditional dishes.
The monsters and beastn had long forced humans to live in fortresses, and naturally, the food culture had developed.
The techniques for constructing fortresses had also advanced greatly for similar reasons.
Anyway, the food culture inside the fortress had beco diverse, so it was no surprise—it was Naurillia's capital, Nauril.
Even the chef hired by Andrew would have been top-tier if they were in a provincial city.
Slurp.
Enkrid tasted the stew's broth.
A rich, savory flavor enveloped his tongue, going down his throat. The taste awakened the hunger he had temporarily forgotten while washing.
He picked up a fork, filled it with the cubed beef, carrots, and other vegetables, and ate.
He pushed aside the bay leaf, which he didn’t eat, and speared the at, putting it in his mouth.
With one bite, the well-cooked beef offered a soft, fluffy texture, quickly tearing apart.
It was tender and fluffy. It tore and scattered in his mouth. The savory flavor mixed with the beef’s natural oily taste, harmonizing with the delicate flavor, and flowed down his throat like a waterfall.
The carrots were soft and tender, and the broccoli had absorbed the seasoning, transforming into a completely different vegetable.
It was a satisfying al. His hand, holding the fork, moved faster.
Everyone around him was similar.
Esther, too, had transford into a human and joined the table.
"Every ti I see it, it’s amazing," Andrew said, looking at Esther.
The five trainees and Mack ate separately, so other than Andrew, only Enkrid's people were here.
Esther noticed Andrew's gaze and responded.
"First ti seeing a witch?"
Esther asked, unlike her usual deanor. She had provided proper food, so this was a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, it wasn't sothing that would be seen as a kindness by anyone, but for Esther, it was indeed a gesture of goodwill.
"This is the first ti I've seen such a beautiful sorceress."
Esther didn’t react much to this.
Andrew wasn’t saying anything particularly aningful. He just thought it was natural that Enkrid wasn’t taken in by Kin Baisar.
Esther sliced so broccoli with a knife and put it in her mouth. Her appearance was almost otherworldly.
Her long, flowing hair, blue eyes, and mysterious atmosphere made it feel like she was an unapproachable being, impossible to engage with.
And yet, everyone treated her casually.
Rem asked, and Esther nodded.
"Which tastes better—when you're a leopard, or when you're human?"
Dunbakel also asked.
"Why don’t you transform and try eating it?"
Esther replied nonchalantly. She wasn’t angry; this was her usual deanor.
Andrew had been watching her for days and had started to get used to it by now.
That leopard was a witch...
But what shocked him more was Enkrid. Compared to when he was under his command, Enkrid had beco an entirely different being.
Is he really becoming a knight?
The thought ca to him naturally.
Andrew was lost in thought as he focused on the food.
Looking at it, he felt like they wouldn't even see the at if they left it alone.
Even with the large portions prepared, these people ate three tis the amount of an average person.
Everyone seed to have forgotten the Marquis’ business.
Andrew found that fascinating.
No one even asked what was going on or questioned anything. It was the difference between following and believing.
Andrew quietly realized what he had to gain from his subordinates. It was a stroke of unexpected fortune.
And so, after everyone had finished eating, Dunbakel, with sauce sared on his mouth, asked.
"What’s that? Just to be clear, it's not a beastman."
He ate everything, but they all understood what he ant.
Who would be going around kidnapping people at night?
Whether it’s a good kill or letting the prey go, they needed to know its true identity.
Rem also agreed.
They had to first guess the identity of their prey.
Is it a beast roaming at night?
Even though rumors of bad security in the capital were circulating, it didn't make sense that a monster would be running around.
That ant it was sothing that hid during the day and only acted at night, maybe only once every few days. Even with all this, it was hard to guess its identity.
Ragna lightly nodded. He understood and indicated he had the sa question.
Enkrid found it strange that no one asked why they had to catch it.
After all, they had co to the conclusion that there was sothing behind it.
Even Dunbakel, who asked what it was, showed no sign of dissatisfaction.
That was remarkable.
They followed along without a single complaint.
In truth, they were all a bit bored. Tornting the trainees and sightseeing around the capital wasn’t sothing they could do every day.
Rem was also slowly sharpening his axe blade.
It was a sign that he wanted to fight. The atmosphere in the capital was also quite stimulating. It was similar to the air on the battlefield.
Enkrid chewed his food, swallowed it, and then spoke.
"The sorcerer who summoned lightning, the cave, the alchemist's drug experints."
It was a series of words.
Enkrid had an excellent mory. He had heard about the events in the capital recently.
There had even been words Andrew had summarized.
The sound of beasts crying out, making disappearances every few days.
An entity whose presence wasn't felt during the day.
As he pieced all the information together, a realization struck him.
Enkrid spoke again.
And the Black Blades.
Jaxon was there too. The very place where Enkrid had spoken these things.
The place where the Black Blades had been searching for an alchemist's experints.
Was it the alchemist, Lavan? A madman by that na?
He had seen a human half-transford into a ghoul there.
Enkrid sorted the information and reflected on it.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
What kind of existence hides during the day and rampages at night?
What is it related to?
How does it connect to the current situation?
In the capital, there was a leader of the Black Blades.
He had lost his sword, the Lykanos, and those who would be called his enemies had co close to him. No, they didn’t just co close—they approached.
"Does Jaxon not know he’s being hunted?"
If soone didn’t understand that much, they couldn’t have been hiding their true nature or pulling such tricks until now.
"Am I right?"
Jaxon furrowed his brow and asked. Enkrid nodded. Not stopping there, he continued to explain for those who were following along without a word.
The traces point to sothing close to a monster, but the fact that it hides during the day proves that this being possesses reason. Otherwise, soone would have captured it and released it periodically, but that isn’t possible.
The city’s security forces are not completely incompetent. It would be impossible for sothing like that to happen without them noticing.
Enkrid recalled the captain of the guards he had seen when they first entered the capital. His feathered hat had left a lasting impression.
Regardless of skill, he didn’t appear to be an easy opponent.
The fact that they had missed it ant the opponent's strength and movents were difficult to counter.
Enkrid placed his right elbow on the table, raised his index finger, and spoke.
"Conclusion: A human undergoing beastification."
What kind of thought process leads to such a conclusion?
Even Esther could only understand it after hearing it.
When considering swordsmanship, Enkrid analyzed everything from start to finish.
His exceptional mory aided him in this.
He also had a creative and flexible way of thinking.
Creativity and flexibility can’t be solved solely by innate ability.
They require constant training and repetition.
For Enkrid, swordsmanship and martial arts were always paths that didn’t offer clear answers, like an endless cliff.
To climb that cliff, he had to think and analyze continuously. Without that, he couldn't move forward.
That’s why thinking expansively was possible. If anything is possible, it ans every possibility must be examined.
Once he gathered all the information, the answer ca to him.
"It only appears when the moon rises."
Jaxon added to the explanation.
Jaxon had always been interested in any unusual events occurring in the capital.
Naturally, that’s because he never knew where a clue might co from.
However, this was unexpected for him.
Honestly, he had forgotten about it.
Crazy alchemists conducting biological experints were a di a dozen.
But once all the pieces were connected, it made perfect sense.
If it’s a human undergoing beastification, what kind of beast could it be?
One that only cos out at night, unable to control its instincts during the night.
Lycanthrope.
If Jaxon had deduced it, Enkrid would have figured it out too. But there was no need to say it aloud. He kept quiet.
"Now, what we need is simple."
Enkrid continued.
Rem, who had been listening quietly, nodded and spoke.
"We don't have the right."
"That's right. If we investigate the scene of the incident starting tomorrow during the day, the constable will be thrilled. He’ll try to challenge us, asking who dares to step out."
"If anyone dares challenge, we shouldn’t hesitate to knock them down," Rem added.
Enkrid nodded.
Rem wasn’t a fool. Sotis, the trouble he caused was pure mischief, but at other tis, it was mischief driven by calculated reasoning.
Still, it’s mischief.
Enkrid organized his thoughts silently and then spoke.
If the Marquis hadn’t spoken empty words, he would likely send sothing in return.
If Enkrid had the necessary abilities to handle this, where would the rights lie? Who could grant him those rights?
If a noble granted permission, the task would beco easier.
That would also be enough to serve as a shield to block the constable’s nonsense.
Enkrid anticipated this and spoke.
If Marcus or Kraiss had been here, they would have gotten up and clapped.
"You should go into politics!!" Marcus would have said beforehand.
"With that tongue of yours, you’ll steal won’s hearts. A woman’s heart is nothing but fickleness, so thinking of everything is a talent!" Kraiss would have said.
They would have had different perspectives, of course.
But since neither of them were here, no one bothered to marvel.
Rem was ready to swing his axe again.
Ragna felt the sa, and Dunbakel wasn’t much different.
Esther had no intention of casting a spell.
However, she had beco curious about the subject of the experints.
Human and beast hybrid?
That’s called a chira. She had no interest in such things.
It was unrelated to her world of magic. It wasn’t necessary, and it repulsed her.
For a mage, feeling is important. If she felt disgusted by it, that ant it didn’t align with her.
If she kept engaging in such acts, she would lose her influence in the world she created, ultimately losing her magic. Having made similar mistakes before, Esther withdrew from this task.
"I’ll rest. I like this cushion."
"Alright."
Esther leaving didn’t change anything.
Enkrid raised his second finger from the hand resting on the table.
"Conclusion two: Since it’s a night without a visible moon, all we need to do is get a good night’s sleep."
Andrew, who had been observing, suddenly found his mouth hanging open and couldn’t close it.
Then, at Enkrid’s words, he shut his mouth and asked.
"Why is your head so good?"
"Didn’t you have enough ti to think?"
Did that an anyone could figure it out? Is this sothing that could be solved with just ti?
"That sounds like you’re saying the constable and the captain of the guards in the capital are all idiots," Andrew muttered in disbelief, but everyone let it slide. It was true, after all.
No, it was because Enkrid was exceptionally brilliant. But no one reacted to it.
"Why is no one surprised?"
Only Andrew mumbled, but even he quickly stopped talking.
This was just the way they were, and this was the kind of unit it was.
That night, Enkrid and his party slept soundly. Enkrid got up early as usual and began his isolation techniques, with Andrew joining him a little later.
They woke up to another morning, just like any other.
In the midst of their morning training, a voice from outside interrupted.
"Was it really you?"
A guest had arrived. Or rather, it could be called a gift sent by an organization.
He had made the right move to do the job properly.
By sending Aisia, a mber of the knight order, and of course, she recognized Enkrid imdiately.
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